


Love Me Right

by jongnugget



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sports, Comedy, Football, M/M, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Sports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2019-10-18 07:01:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 120,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17576144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongnugget/pseuds/jongnugget
Summary: His life was simple - eat, train, sleep, win.Who knew that a simple tryout could change it all?





	1. Foreword

## 

## Kim Jongin 

Captain of SM College's football team. Quarterback.

He had a routine - eat, sleep, train, then win. But he didn't

know that everything could turn upside down because of

only one person. 

Now, now, even the best routine could get boring at some point.

 

 

## Do Kyungsoo

Quiet and collected, he never expected that his life could take

such a turn. He never expected putting on football attire, he

never expected standing in the middle of a field, he never expected

being in the center of the spotlight.

But here he was, and somehow, it didn't feel bad.

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

 

Read in  **FRENCH**  [here](https://www.fanfic-fr.net/fanfics/Musique/E/EXO/Love-Me-Right/85005.html)! :)  
(translation by Miley94)

Read in  **SPANISH**[here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/121280342-love-me-right-traducci%C3%B3n-kaisoo)! :)  
(translation by Yesi5onetic)

Read in  **POLISH**[here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/108146683-love-me-right-t%C5%82umaczony)! :)  
(translation by CuteLittleTaoPanda)

Read in  **PORTUGESE**  [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15271872/chapters/35425764)! :)  
(translation by eddicosta)

Read in  **INDONESIAN**[here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/131079428?utm_source=android&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details_button&wp_uname=kaixoxodo&wp_originator=eBS7NX5C5VhYd4iimcA19entu2Zme4VcBmHc3If3Ap2x3nnA3T3xdsZjEApV%2FT7QRcbeNlCqWGSOeDm0GCInBu%2BaXxizmSdwrlJ2Q%2BQNDwvI5qKkR8jl54Yclat7ydlW&_branch_match_id=467441742666121372)! :)  
(translation by kaixoxodo)

Read in  **ARABIC**[here](https://www.wattpad.com/616071958-love-me-right-foreword)! :)  
(translation by Nanawecanexo)

Read in  **TURKISH**[here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/169056330-love-me-right-%C3%A7eviri)! :)  
(translation by iBlanchex)

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

I have decided to cross post this fic on AO3 as well, originally it was written and posted on AFF [here](https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/960438/love-me-right-college-sport-exo-kai-kyungsoo)

 


	2. -1-

01 

Impossible heat. Chests heaving up and down. Ragged breathing.

Kai was standing in the middle of the field, surrounded by the rest of the team. There was a frown adorning his features, as he looked around, the rays of the sun kissing his skin, already glistening with sweat from the intense practice. 

"Can't we call it a day?" Baekhyun questioned in between deep intakes of breath, earning himself a glance.

"No. We can't afford another loss." it was Suho who answered instead of Kai, holding a folder in his hands. "The competition against YG Academy this Sunday is the last chance for us to get in this year's college league. If not, we're out until the next season."

Kai nodded darkly, not really minding his teammates' exasperated groans and unhappy snorts. The team felt different ever since Moonkyu left. They weren't that machine they used to be, the tactics couldn't be performed properly by the guys sitting on the bench, the chemistry was missing. Ever since he transferred to another college, their team wasn't the same. They were missing a top player and most importantly, a friend.

"When are the tryouts, Suho?" Kai questioned instead and Suho shrugged.

"Next Monday. So we need to win once until we find good people to fill the team."

Kris on the other side of the group clanked on the railing with his helmet, attracting the attention towards himself and his stoic, yet determined expression. 

"We can do this." 

"DAMN RIGHT WE CAN!" Chanyeol roared and with a series of cheers from the rest of the boys, the team set off for another run around the field. Kai stayed behind and looked at Suho, who was smiling mildly at the terrain where the others were scattering. 

"You know, you can fill in for Moonkyu." he spoke quietly. "You're good enough."

"I prefer assisting the coach. Besides, we really do need something fresh for this team. Or rather, somebody."

* * *

It wasn't a pleasant afternoon, definitely not good for a game. Even Do Kyungsoo knew this. It was too hot, way too hot for a spring day. But being the good friend that he was, he was bound to come and watch their game, to cheer for his college's team. Baekhyun wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer. 

Not that Kyungsoo had intended to slack. He was always present for the games. He quite enjoyed football. Whenever he had time, he'd go help Baekhyun out with his training if he needed a hand. He used to play it with his dad before, he played it with his best friend now. It was fine. 

He was trying to convince himself that this was the sole reason that he was now sweating under the annoyingly hot sun. That his regular attendance to SM's games was only because he liked football and that his roommate was a part of the team. Only that, and nothing to do with a certain team captain. 

Kyungsoo sighed and fanned himself when the teams started getting in position after the last game break. It was a tie and their team only had 8 seconds to score a touchdown. And being a realistic bystander, Kyungsoo sighed out. Even Kai wouldn't be able to do that with the changes in their team. He'd have to go for a straight run and the defenders would have to do their job properly for them to have a change, because in 8 seconds they wouldn't be able to pass the ball around. It was only a one chance thing. 

So he squinted his eyes against the sun, watching as Kai was yelling on the field, directing the players around while putting on his helmet. From his stance Kyungsoo knew he was getting ready for it, getting behind Baekhyun who'd pass the ball to him. Then he had to run and rely on his teammates. Even Kyungsoo on the bench leaned forward in anticipation. 

In every movie he'd seen about football they made these last few second pass in slow motion for the players, heavy steps and loud cheering from the crowd. He didn't know how it was for Kai who was dashing through the 100 yard field, but the reality was different for him and the other people in the public. 

These 8 seconds of holding his breath ended quickly when he saw Kai throwing himself forward towards the inner field, when he heard the ring announcing a change in the score, when he heard the sudden boom of cheers from the crowd. 

He felt his mouth hanging in shock while the people around him started jumping up and down, clapping, cheering for the quarterback.

He'd done it. Kai had done it. 

Kyungsoo slowly rose to his feet, eyes never leaving Kai who was now being surrounded by his teammates, throwing themselves on top of him. He could hear their victorious screams from here, he could see Baekhyun colliding with Chanyeol for a rather fierce hug, before both of them joined the pile of bodies on the ground.

He couldn't hear the voice of the announcer because of the loud cheers, but it definitely wasn't something he didn't know already. 

This victory meant qualification for the semi-finals of the college league. That meant that the new players the team would get would have to train a lot in order to make it till the next competitions. But all of that didn't really interest him all that much.

His eyes focused back on the field where he could see the players' smiles on sweaty faces with smudged paint on their cheeks. And a particular smile made him stable himself up and finally smirk.

He started clapping with the crowd.

* * *

Kim Jongin was feeling heavenly while walking down the hallways of the college, receiving pats and smiles from all the students around himself. These last few days after their win had been heavenly - he didn't know how he'd managed to score that touchdown, but he had. He didn't know he'd manage to push his team forward, but there they were, getting ready for the semi-finals. 

He was quickly moving towards his economics class, quietly calculating the points they'd need. They had to win three matches for SM to move to the finals, but against other colleges it didn't seem like a very bright possibility. He was looking forward to the tryouts, if they didn't find other good people, then they were done for. He doubted that he could go for such a run again. 

"KAI!" he heard a deep roar and almost rolled his eyes when he identified the voice as Chanyeol's. Kai turned around in his spot and saw the giant moving forward through the crowd, Baekhyun following him with a wide grin. 

"What?" 

"Hey, listen! Kris is throwing a party tonight." Chanyeol informed and Baekhyun nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, celebration party. He told us to tell you. The whole campus will be there, it will be the party of the year, I swear!"

A mild smirk made its way to Kai's lips. He was never one to turn down a party. So he threw his bag over his shoulder and nodded.

"Cool. I'll be there." 

"You better, I swear. A celebration party without the top player wouldn't be the same!" Baekhyun shoved him not so lightly and Kai only smirked again.

Others would have been flustered. They would have probably shyly said 'no, it's not true'.

But not in this case. Kai knew what he could do, he knew he was good enough. So were his teammates, the only people he could rely on when they were on the field. The ones he'd chosen himself.

The smirk quivered for a second when he remembered that one empty spot on the team that had to be filled. 

Would he be able to find another player that would fit his team like Moonkyu used to?

* * *

"I hate parties, why am I even here with you." Kyungsoo grumbled, awkwardly following Baekhyun towards the frat house, booming even from this far. He felt sorry for his eardrums, he didn't want to do this to them. 

"Stop complaining. You need a social life!" his roommate gave him a look. "I don't want to be roommates with a boring bookworm."

"I swear, Baekhyun, I'm going to-"

"Unbutton your shirt. Who even wears a closed shirt above a T-shirt, you fashion terrorist?!" Baekhyun turned around and went for the buttons on Kyungsoo's shirt. They were engaged in a small fight in which the shorter one was trying to pull away, but Baekhyun, with a not so light slap on his hands, managed to achieve his goal, so now Kyungsoo's shirt was hanging loose and there was a victorious smirk on the other one's face. "Good. Now there's a 5% chance that you'll get laid."

Kyungsoo frowned at the words and eyed the frat house again. There were people in front of the house, too. There were people already drunk, girls in skimpy clothing, guys offering them more drinks, smiling charmingly. That's why he didn't like parties, it was loud and gross. Besides, he just didn't fit. 

"Come on, stop frowning." Baekhyun pulled him forward. "Let's go, we're missing all the fun!" 

Kyungsoo had been right, as soon as they entered the house, he started feeling bad for his ears. The music was way too loud and he wondered how long it would be before this would cause problems. But judging by the atmosphere inside, this wasn't going to be the main problem - people were drunk. A lot. 

He was standing out like a sore thumb while Baekhyun was greeted warmly by the people inside  - after all, he was on the football team. He was one of the cool kids in college. Besides, he was always fun to be around, Baekhyun was full of sense. He was nothing like Kyungsoo, who was shifting awkwardly in his place, looking at his roommate from time to time, wondering whether he already forgot about him. 

"Come on, Soo!" was his confirmation, that he wasn't forgotten when Baekhyun grabbed his hand and started dragging him after a few guys towards what had to be a kitchen. Kyungsoo recognized the players - he knew Chanyeol, they have spoken quite a lot thanks to Baekhyun. He was also pretty aquanticed with Suho, Xiumin and Chen, they were in some of his classes. But others like Tao and Kris, like Lay, Sehun and Kai, he hadn't met before. He knew them but he doubted that they've ever even noticed him. But here he was, standing in the kitchen with Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kris and Lay, who shoved a beer in his hand with a very dazed expression.

"Yo, Kris, you got some-"

"You're not smoking anything, Yixing, you're fucked up enough as you are now." the tallest blonde cut him off mid-sentence with a stern look on his face. "I don't want you dying on me."

"Oh come on, we're celebrating, Kris! Let him have fun!"

"No means no." the authority in his voice was undeniable and even Baekhyun didn't bother speaking up again. Lay didn't seem to mind the decision of the host either. Instead, he grabbed a beer and vanished in the crowd. "And you."

Kyugnsoo stiffened when he turned around and saw the brown eyes of the football player bored in him. 

"Who are you?"

"That's Kyungsoo, my roommate." Baekhyun draped an arm over his shoulder and Kyungsoo started feeling smaller and smaller with every passing second as the eyes of the players located him. Kris examined him for a second before nodding. 

"Good. You seem sober enough, you mind helping me and Baekhyun with the food?" 

Kyungsoo let out a sigh of relief. He thought he'd be in trouble. Instead, he set the beer aside and nodded. It wasn't that much work. They had to simply open bags of snacks and put them in bowls across the house. In fact, Kyungsoo was grateful that he was now doing something, while Baekhyun was complaining that life was unfair; that he'd come here to party and not to act like a host.

Kris seemed quite nice, Kyungsoo decided after a little while, when the giant managed to shut Baekhyun up and to stop Tao from grabbing another beer. Instead, he turned towards Kyungsoo and handed him two more bowls with chips.

"Can you please get these to the living room? I need to go get more soda."

"Sure." Kyungsoo headed for the door and was once again surprised by the stench of alcohol and from the loud banging of the music when he pushed the door open. It was packed, he hadn't known that a single word for a party from the football team would cause such a commotion. He'd known that it would be a big party, but he hadn't expected it to be _that_ huge.

He was carefully making his way through the mass of people towards the tables. A few stepped on him, others were dancing to the upbeat music and it wasn't helping Kyungsoo move properly. The cheering of people was loud and the music was even louder and Kyungsoo was feeling a little sick, but it was alright. He'd get used to it eventually. 

Sure, if a guy hadn't turned around in his way, colliding with him. The drink in his hand spilled all over the front of his shirt and the bowls with chips trembled in Kyungsoo's hands when he stumbled backwards. He looked up towards the guy who was now wearing an angry expression aimed at him. 

"You little fucker!" he said and somehow, his voice boomed over the music and Kyungsoo trembled again. This boy was huge - all muscles and anger and for the first time in his life, Kyungsoo was afraid for his face. Especially when said dude shoved his half empty cup in somebody's hand and moved forward. 

Kyungsoo contemplated running away for a second, because screw this. He'd known that parties were no good. But the space between them wasn't big and next thing Kyungsoo knew the guy was holding the front of his shirt, his scrunched up in anger face centimeters away from Kyungsoo's.

"Look what you did, you-"

"I'm sorry!" Kyungsoo blurted out and tried to move backwards. " I was just trying to get these there but you turned around and-"

"Are you blaming me?!" 

 _Oops, mistake,_ Kyungsoo thought, when the guy's fist tightened at the front of his shirt. He opened his mouth, searching for words, vaguely noticing the way people around them were already watching the episode. It probably seemed comical, because he even saw a few people drunkenly giggle. 

He had nowhere to run and he tried to brace himself for a hit because he could feel the scent of alcohol from the guy in front of him and Kyungsoo knew better than to reason with a drunk dude twice his size. 

"Hey, hey, what's going on here?" he heard a familiar voice and opened his eyes when he saw Baekhyun, followed by Chanyeol, entering that little circle the people had formed around them. 

"That little moron spilled the entire drink on me!" the guy snapped and Kyungsoo was grateful enough that Bakehyun was now here, because that was at least some sort of assurance that he wasn't going to completely die. 

"You're at a party, you idiot. Shit happens. Get over it and let him go now!" 

"I am not going to let him go until he apologizes!"

"But I already did!" Kyungsoo squeaked and Baekhyun shot him a look that said something among the lines of 'you're unbelievably dumb and pathetic'. However, the shaking caused by the guy in front of him reminded him, that he was still in his grasp, still 5 seconds away from getting the punch of his life. And that wasn't good.

"Apologize properly, you -"

"Nobody's going to apologize." a new voice, seemingly lazy but somehow strong, resounded in the room. "Not to pigs like you. Let him go and leave right now."

Kyungsoo averted his gaze and his breath hitched for a second and he couldn't care less whether he'd get hit or not, because it was Kai who was now advancing towards them with a set jaw and a dark look in his eyes. It was Kai who was interfering in this and it was shame that Kyungsoo felt creeping in his chest. Way to make a first impression!

"I think I said something." Kai said and everybody was quiet now, the music wasn't booming and he was so, so close, that Kyungsoo could feel his scent already, as he sprawled a hand out to push the guy away. "Get out of here before I get angry."

"That idiot ruined my shirt!"

"I couldn't care less about your shirt." Kai finally managed to push him away and to stand between Kyungsoo and that gorilla of a guy. Baekhyun immediately stood next to him, but Kyungsoo continued looking at the scene in front of himself. Kai wasn't that big either, compared to this giant, but there was something in the way he was looking at him with an ironic smirk and a dark look in his eyes, that made Kyungsoo shiver. "You're ruining this party, man. And this is a party that celebrates my team's victory. So either you sit the fuck down and deal with your ruined shirt or you get out right now. It's your choice."

The gorilla guy opened his mouth, brows furrowed, pointing towards Kyungsoo, but what the shorter one could see was not the threatening look, but the way Kai's fist rose and collided with the guy's jaw.

"Wrong choice." he muttered when the big guy stumbled backwards. "Get out of here right now." 

Kyungsoo didn't get to see much more. There wasn't that big of a scene, because Kris returned out of nowhere with Tao and Sehun by his sides. Kyungsoo didn't see the exchange, he only heard another muffled 'oof' before Chanyeol and Kris were shoving that big guy out of the house.

"Honestly..." it was Baekhyun who spoke first. "I leave you alone for five minutes and you get in trouble."

"You know him?" Kai turned around and Kyungsoo froze in his spot again.

"He's my roommate." Baekhyun nodded and Kyungsoo felt the eyes of Kai lingering on him for a moment longer than the comfortable time, but he didn't mind. Not really.

"Well, you better stay out of trouble, shrimpy. I plan on getting hammered, so don't expect me to save you again."

And then, as soon as he'd come by, he was gone and Kyungsoo's mouth was hanging open while Baekhyun was starting to shake from quiet laughter on his side. Kyungsoo contemplated for a second whether he should hit him or not, but he was busy processing the words and watching Kai disappear in the crowd with his black clothing. 

"Did he just...call me 'shrimpy'?" Kyungsoo questioned after a little while and Baekhyun's laughter finally became a bit lighter.

"I should thank him for that. I have a new nickname for you now," Baekhyun straightened after the deathly glare of Kyungsoo, a smile still present on his face. "But he's right. If you're going to bump into somebody, choose drunk chicks. The worst they could do is claw at you, but then you could say it was from a heated night or something."

"Baekhyun..."

"Anyway, where is your beer, Kyungsoo?! I did not bring you to this party to have you sober!" Baekhyun grabbed his hand after setting the bowls aside. "Come on!" 

And while the night was progressing, Kyungsoo couldn't stop thinking about those two minutes and he couldn't help but constantly scan the room for the black hair and clothes of Kai. But as much as he was trying to find him, he didn't really set off through the house. For now, he decided to stick to Baekhyun's and Chanyeol's side.

And speaking of which, he felt lonely somehow. Those two were doing a great job of ignoring him. Their heated kisses seemed engaging enough.

* * *

"No."

"You can't say 'no'!"

"I just did." Kyungsoo pointed out, leaning over his book, but Baekhyun shoved that out of his face and tried to look intimidating.

"That's your fucking chance, Kyungsoo! Do it for me, please! It would be so awesome having you on the team!"

"You're being ridiculous. I'm not good enough." Kyungsoo averted his eyes and stretched out for the book, but Baekhyun pulled it out of his reach.

"You're ridiculous. You're a better center than me! And if you get that position, I could go back to being a fullback again....Kyungsoo, listen to me! I know what I'm talking about! You're smart and athletic, you'd click well with all of us!"

"Even if I come to the stupid tryouts," Kyungsoo exploded. "I'm not going to make it! I'm slow and I'm definitely not big enough for this thing. I only play it for fun with you."

"But you're good!" 

Kyungsoo had a staring competition with Baekhyun and it was Chanyeol and his quiet laughter that broke the intense silence. 

"Well, I signed you up, Soo." he announced with a happy glint in his eyes and got two different 'what'-s. Baekhyun's excited 'what' and Kyungsoo's scandalized, high-pitched 'WHAT?!'. So he chuckled quietly again, sprawling himself out on Baekhyun's bed, hands playing with his phone. "Don't look at me like that. A tryout won't kill you. Besides, Baek _does_ say that you're good, so why not?"

"Damn you all." Kyungsoo fell back on his bed while the two morons high-fived each other and did their own celebration dance, while he quietly muttered to himself, that there was no way in hell that he was going to that tryout.

* * *

But obviously Byun Baekhyun lived above the rules of hell and world and here he was now - Kyungsoo was standing in the line with the candidates with a grumpy expression on his face and for the second time in only one week he felt like he didn't fit at all. 

However, Baekhyun's reassuring smile and Chanyeol's constant pats on his back had some comforting effect and he found himself being a little more OK with this whole situation. That was, until the coach of the team, Suho with a folder in his hands and Kai, as the team captain, emerged from the office and started walking towards them on the wide green field.

"Why is he here?!" Kyungsoo frantically whispered towards Bakehyun.

"Huh? Who?...Kai?" Baekhyun slapped his shoulder lightly. "Don't be ridiculous. He's probably forgotten about that thing already, he got really drunk back then. Besides, he's the captain, he has to be here!" 

"But-"

"Shut it, Kyungsoo. You can't run away now." Baekhyun grinned widely and stepped back. "We're going there, we'll help them choose. So good luck, moron. Do your best!" 

Kyungsoo couldn't say anything else, because Baekhyun and Chanyeol grabbed their stuff and in fast strides joined the three people who seemed to be discussing something over the folder. 

So he stood there and he waited and wondered why this was happening. He'd never in his life wanted to be on a football team for a college. He'd never in his life wanted to bury himself somewhere in shame more than he did now. He definitely had never wanted to be trying out for a team under the eyes of that certain team captain, that he might have had a hopeless crush on. 

But Byun Baekhyun was an idiot and Park Chanyeol wasn't any better and here he was now, starting to wonder whether he'd actually make something or he'd end up looking like a fool. 

He shivered when the players and the coach dismissed their little circle and turned towards them, five pairs of eyes going through the fifteen boys waiting in line. And Kyungsoo waited, eyes bored in the ground. He definitely did not want to see what was going on. 

"ALRIGHT!" he looked up when the captain's voice boomed, somehow sounding soft despite the volume. "Out of you fifteen we'll choose two, who will join the team. One spare and one center, you're all aware of this, right? I want to see what you guys have and you better do your best, cause you only have one chance, alright?!"

Kyungsoo still wasn't looking up but when he eventually raised his head a little, he saw that Kai was progressing down the line, walking in front of the candidates, slowly getting closer and closer to him.

"If you think that at some point you'll want to leave it's better to go now, because I do not want to deal with idiots, am I clear?!" Kai eyed one of the boys in front while continuing down the line. "And if you think that you won't be able to handle it, the cheerleaders are recruiting too."

Kyungsoo froze when Kai took another step forward and he was now standing in front of him with a quizzical expression on his perfect face, plump lips drawn into an intrigued smirk.

"And you...why are you here, _shrimpy_?"

Then and there, Kyungsoo's world shattered. 

 


	3. -2-

02

Kai was standing on the end of the field, hands tightly crossed in front of his chest. His expression was serious as he kept on biting the inner side of his cheek.

Baekhyun, however, didn't even bother hiding his smug smile.

"I'd say 'I told you', but-"

"You already did." Kai snapped. "Twice."

Kai looked back at the field where the players and the coach were standing and Suho seemed beyond entertained while talking with the little guy who'd just managed to break Chanyeol's defense. Hence the giant was now wincing in what had to be pain and Kai was sure that he's rub his chest where the little guy's shoulder had collided with him if it wasn't for the attire.

"What's his name anyway?" 

"Shrim-... _don't look at me like that!_ " Baekhyun laughed quietly, before composing himself and finally giving a proper answer. "It's Kyungsoo."

And Kai only looked back to the field again where that short guy was just standing and smiling awkwardly, as he waited for the others to finish, too. But after seeing his stance and the way his round eyes were looking at the field, calculating the possibilities, he didn't think he even needed to consult the coach and Suho about it - he knew that in the end, he'd be on the team.

And judging by Baekhyun's radiant grin, he knew that too.

* * *

"You don't seem particularly happy." Luhan pointed out on the following day, as they were getting ready for practice in the locker rooms. "Didn't you find good players yesterday?"

"We did."

"Then what's with the long face? If they're good then we'll win for sure, right?"

"I hope so," Kai distractedly played with the jersey in his hands, thinking about whether his choice had been right.

"Well?" Luhan inquired, leaning against his locker with a raised eyebrow. "Who are they?"

"The really big guy from the former wresting club and Baekhyun's roommate."

Kai hadn't expected the burst of laughter and the rushed shutting of a locker.

"Baekhyun's roommate?" Kris appeared on the other side of the aisle while Luhan continued laughing out loud, attracting the attention of the other guys as well. "That Soonkyung guy or something?"

"Kyungsoo," Kai corrected, earning himself a skeptical look.

"Kai...the qualifications for a lineman are to be big and dumb. He doesn't fit any of those, I think...He's so...tiny. He doesn't even  _look_ athletic!"

"Neither do you, but here you are..." Kai stretched, ignoring the glare. "Besides, I've never seen you get past Chanyeol, right?"

"That fucking hurt by the way," said giant announced from beside them and while some of the guys from the team were too busy interrogating Chanyeol, Kai leaned his head back against the locker once again. 

He was wondering whether there was something right in Kris' words. He remembered Kyungsoo, alright. He was the guy from the party - the little guy whose ass he'd saved from a whooping. He hadn't really paid that much attention to him back then - just a lithe boy with alluring features that couldn't really protect himself. 

However, things were different now. That boy seemed to not be all that pathetic - he had amazed the team captain with what he'd shown on the terrain and Kai was starting to think that he should have held these tryouts earlier because if he'd found these people before, then his team wouldn't have been under so much stress for the upcoming games. He was wondering whether Kyungsoo as their new center would be able to fit in for this little period of time they had.

He was wondering and hoping, anxiously tapping his foot on the floor.

In the end, he'd make it work somehow.

* * *

Kyungsoo didn't like the way all these ten guys were staring at him, it made him feel uncomfortable.

"So, um...you're the new center?" Sehun spoke up, holding his helmet in his hands, a quirked eyebrow and a blank expression. "Are't you a little too...small?"

"Oh cut the crap," Baekhyun shoved him out of the way, grinning as always. "Chen's just as short and small. This is stupid."

"Hey!" there was a complain coming from the player at the end of the line, while Sehun shrugged. 

"Yeah, he is, but he also isn't a center, you know..."

"He may be small but I'd love seeing him beat the crap out of you." Kai's words echoed, as he pushed Sehun away to make his way to the front, passing by Kyungsoo without even batting an eyelid. However, the older one blinked quickly, processing the words slowly. He didn't know what to think of it as everybody looked at him again, before turning towards Kai. "The semi-finals for the league are in two weeks and we don't have enough time to prepare. We almost lost against YG last week and we're going to meet them there again. I do not want to lose to those fuckers but if you don't put enough effort in the practice then nothing will matter and we will lose and I'd love seeing you all walk around with long, disappointed faces for a whole year!"

"You're being very inspirational, you know..." Tao rolled his eyes, words dripping with sarcasm. 

"He's being realistic." Suho walked in and stared at the members. "There are new things you should do, me and the coach have been talking about the gamebook and there are corrections we made, given that there are new members and we don't really know what will happen with the teamwork from now on..."

Kyungsoo shifted his weight on his feet when a few pairs of eyes located him again and he felt like those words were aimed at him. And this was just the start of his first practice, he hadn't even trained with these guys before except for Baekhyun. But he doubted there was a person whose personality Baekhyun's didn't fit.

So instead, he clutched at his new helmet and set his jaw. He raised his head up and caught Kai looking at him for a mere second.

A mere second of badly concealed doubt in the deep brown eyes, before the team captain looked away.

"We're wasting time. Let's start already! We'll start with five!" he beckoned and Kyungsoo looked at the way the guys dropped their helmets and set off for what he assumed would be laps around the field. And just as he was about to follow them, Kai grabbed him by the elbow and got closer to him, deep, serious eyes piercing his own.

"If you didn't understand what Suho meant, I'll tell it to you this way." Kai leaned down closer and Kyungsoo could swear that his heart stopped for a moment, as he felt the hot breath of the captain near his ear. "You're in the team now. Don't fuck up."

* * *

Kyungsoo was sitting on his bed and he was a tad too quiet. Too quiet even for himself and he was a naturally calm guy. Tonight, however, his stillness made even Byun Baekhyun feel uncomfortable, which was a rare sight. The latter sat up and side-eyed Kyungsoo.

"I feel like I'm rooming with a corpse. What's wrong with you?"

Kyungsoo blinked in his direction once, twice, looking at Baekhyun's expectant face. Now Kyungsoo would have loved to punch him, but he was way too far away and his muscles were still burning. He wouldn't bother ruining his peaceful stance for the idiot of a roommate.

"What's wrong with  _me_?  _You're_  the one who set me up for this and you're asking me what's wrong?! Real nice, Baekhyun."

"I thought you liked football!" the latter pouted and Kyungsoo looked away. He didn't want to deal with aegyo right now.

"I like football, yes! But I like football when I'm alone or with you only!"

"I don't really get your point."

" _They hate me,_ " Kyungsoo made sure to pronounce every syllable with enough power to shut Baekhyun up. "That's my point. Throughout the entire practice they've been staring at me like I shouldn't be there!"

To his surprise, Baekhyun managed to stay put and silent for about five second, before he shook his head lightly, light brown bangs falling over his eyes.

"You're ridiculous. They don't hate you. Well maybe they do in fact hate  _the idea_  of a new guy playing the center, but you...no...they don't hate you."

Kyungsoo frowned and looked away. 

Baekhyun must have been right - all of them couldn't have any reason to really hate him actually. He has always been the quiet kid in class who'd actually learn when he was supposed to and never really bother the others. He'd learned that living life like this was peaceful and pleasing, so he had his own little routine - study, sleep, eat, not bother others. 

But when others were bothering him and were interfering in his life, then he didn't know what to do. So when Baekhyun and Chanyeol butted in and signed him up for the tryouts, Kyungsoo knew that he'd be damned. And, well, wasn't he right?

So okay, the guys didn't hate him. But that didn't change the fact that Kyungsoo could barely feel his limbs and stomach. He felt like every single muscle in his body was on fire and the feeling was definitely not nice. 

Another thing that hadn't felt nice was the fact that Kai made him run another five laps around the field after the guys finished with theirs and while they continued warming up, Kyungsoo was running around. When the end of the practice was announced, Kyungsoo's been so happy to only have Kai stop him and tell him that he had to practice with the dummies. Cool, Kyungsoo had thought, because they'd leave him alone with the dummies and as soon as they were gone he'd be able to slack off. However, Kai sat himself on the first row of seats in the arena and kept on sitting there stoically while Kyungsoo was pushing and pushing, sweating and sweating, cursing and cursing and slowly dying with every passing second. 

By the time he let him finally leave for the locker rooms, the sun had already went down and Kyungsoo was barely standing on his feet. 

At least he'd found out one thing that day - Kai definitely wasn't that dreamy. Not after he basically killed Kyungsoo's limbs from that much practice.

And something about making you that exhausted on purpose made whatever feelings Kyungsoo might have had fade away. 

Somehow, he didn't really like Kai that much anymore.

* * *

Well, alright, maybe he did.

But was it his fault, that before every practice the guys would gather in the locker rooms and shamelessly start stripping before changing into the football jerseys? Was it his fault that Kai obviously liked walking around shirtless, flashing his toned chest and abs to everybody? And somehow Kyungsoo found these fifteen minutes in the locker rooms before training even more exhausting. 

It was hard keeping your eyes fixed on your hands while ten hot guys and Baekhyun were walking around half naked. 

But other than that, his life was pretty much the same - he'd wake up, he'd study and he'd listen to a lot of music. But the time he had used to just walk around he was now spending on the field and it was tiring him out.

But there were some small changes. It was still a little awkward with the guys. Some of them were far more welcoming that others, but it was alright. Kyungsoo hadn't even expected that. So one of the few things that changed was the fact that he was to be seen sitting on the table of the football players during lunch and that was attracting some glances. He'd heard people talking about it, but he didn't really pay attention. In the end, what mattered was that he was on the team and that he'd have to give his all during practice and matches if he didn't want Kai to skin him alive.

"What are you doing?" was what the captain of the team said that evening as he held Kyungsoo after practice for more practice, as per usual. "Is that what you call a tackle? You didn't even manage to push me."

"Cut him some slack, you asshole. We've been running around for three hours." Baekhyun rolled his eyes, already changed in his normal attire, bag on his shoulder.

"You shut up," Kai snapped. "He has a brain and a mouth to speak with, if he has any complaints, then he'll speak up for himself."

Kyungsoo was a tad too busy panting to notice two heads turning towards him. But when he looked up both Kai and Bakehyun were staring at him - the team captain with a bored expression and Baekhyun with raised eyebrows, as if urging him to speak.

"Well, it's-"

"It is simple. You don't want to train, you leave, I said this before. But you've been here for long enough, shrimpy, to know that I can't give up on you now. I don't have the time to look for another center and I told you, if you fuck this up I swear to God-" Kai sighed out, running a hand through his hair. "Anyway. My point is, we really need to win this, so the only thing you could do now is train. As I said, that wasn't even close to an average tackle."

Baekhyun didn't protest and neither did Kyungsoo, who only sighed out heavily and nodded once. Kai did too, getting in a defensive position.

"Again."

* * *

"Hey, can I..."

Kyungsoo looked up and almost choked on the soda he was drinking. Kai was standing on the side of the table, a bag thrown over one of his shoulders and a smile on point gracing his face. It was kind of different seeing Kai outside the field, without the serious expression and without the jersey that made him look twice bigger than he actually was.

"Y-yeah, sure, just..." Kyungsoo hated himself for not being able to talk properly in his presence. But there was no running away from reality cause here he was, Kai, in all his glory, asking for a seat. "Just let me take this and-"

"It's OK." the taller one threw his bag on the grass in his feet and took a seat on the free chair in front of Kyungsoo. "What are you doing?"

"Um," Kyungsoo looked up with raised eyebrows. "...studying."

"Ah, yeah..." the captain muttered, a little chuckle escaping his lips as his gaze glided over the books and papers on the table. Kyungsoo cocked his head a little when Kai raised his hand to scratch the back of his neck. 

If Kyungsoo wasn't an idiot and if Kai wasn't the football star of the college, then he would have thought that the younger one was embarrassed.

But Kyungsoo  _was_ an idiot and Kai  _was_ the football star so that wasn't quite possible. The quarterback was never shy. Well, at least not in the movies Kyungsoo had seen.

"Look, I'm..." Kai started talking but then abruptly stopped again, eyes not quite directed towards Kyungsoo. "I'm not really good at this, but...I guess Baekhyun and Lay were right. I shouldn't have pushed you that hard. You must think I'm a dick."

Kyungsoo's mouth was slightly open when the words were spoken. He couldn't quite comprehend the situation because it couldn't be true. Was Kai trying to...trying to what? To apologize? Because if he was, then the older one didn't really know what he was supposed to do - there was nothing to apologize for in the first place.

"I don't think you're a dick." he managed to say after a little while. "I...I just think you did what was necesarry for the team."

"If it were that everybody should have been going through the same thing that you went through." Kai sighed out. "I just guess I had more faith in them, since they've been with me for, like, forever."

"I see." Kyungsoo nodded, but in reality, he was just a confused little kid on the inside, that was also secretly spazzing because Kim Kai was sitting with him on the same table and there was a beautiful, nice smile on his face and it was so different from the victorious smirk or the bored expressionless face, that Kyungsoo just felt happy.

"You, however, are the new kid." Kai leaned forward on the table, his lips quivering lightly. "I guess I just didn't expect you to do so well. I didn't really expect you to fit in...I mean, we've always been a team and there have never been new people and then just...shit happens and you appear and I guess I was just....I'm...look, I'm sorry."

Kyungsoo found himself gaping again, because Kai seemed like he was having an inner debate with himself. He didn't really look like he was used to apologizing, and for some reason Kyungsoo found this beyond arrogant. But also somehow cute with the crease between Kai's eyebrows on his once again serious expression. 

"It's OK." Kyungsoo said, trying to smile, but his face felt like it had melted and he didn't know how he looked. And to be honest, he didn't really want to know either. "I understand why you did that, don't apologize...the team is amazing, when Baekhyun asked me to join, he-...."

Something in Kyungsoo's brain clicked and he looked at Kai once again, eyes slightly narrowed. The younger seemed surprised by the sudden halt of Kyungsoo's sentence, because he raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Wait, did Baekhyun send you here to say all of that?"

Kyungsoo may have been an idiot, but he wasn't dumb. Nor blind. He saw the way Kai shifted in his place and the way he looked away, before awkwardly clearing his throat.

"Of course not."

He didn't know how to feel about it - he didn't know whether he should just track Baekhyun down and skin him for interfering in his life again, or whether he should laugh at how bad Kai was at lying. He ended up snorting.

"Sure. If you see him before me tell him I don't need a lawyer."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kai stood up, a little smile playing on his lips as he leaned down to grab his bag. "But in the end of the day I am still the captain and you still shouldn't fuck up. And I think that could be also arranged without two hours extra practice."

Kyungsoo was beaming when Kai turned around after a quick 'See you tonight'. He didn't know exactly what it was, but it was making his chest feel so light, that it was also making his head dizzy.

He was smiling at Kai's retreating form for a good of two minutes, before finally fishing his phone out, fingers dancing quickly on the screen.

                  **To:**  Annoying №1 

_ _   Should I kiss you or should I kill you?

 


	4. -3-

03

 

Kyungsoo was walking with Baekhyun down the green fields of the campus, very skillfully ignoring the venting of his best friend. In fact, he stopped listening to him the moment he brought up his in-words and Kyungsoo could swear that if he heard the word 'kkaebsong' again he'd kill his roommate in his sleep.

Kyungsoo was, in fact, very happy with life in the moment. Last night they'd had practice and it was the first time he was allowed to leave together with the rest of the guys - to actually witness them getting under the showers and then in their casual clothes, to get to see them laugh tiredly, to hear Chanyeol's booming voice suggest them all to grab something in a fast food restaurant. Kyungsoo tagged along with them and it was a fun night with eleven morons in a little bistro, where some of them even managed to get drunk. 

Kai had been pretty quiet during their night out, he wasn't screaming around loudly and enthusiastically like the others. He wasn't joking around all the time like Baekhyun and Chanyeol did. He wasn't provoking others like Chen did and he definitely wasn't like Luhan who was obviously done with everybody's bullshit.

So Kyungsoo might have spent these two hours out eating and maybe kind of staring at Kai and sometimes paying attention to the people speaking to him. But even though they were out together, they didn't really talk. And although he had been gathering the courage to go and start a casual friendly conversation, in the end he'd failed.

But it was still something - he definitely felt like this way he was getting closer to the guys and that's something he had wanted. At least they weren't giving him looks during practice anymore. He could even tell that they were warming up to him. As for Kai, he had to keep reminding himself that it was just a silly crush. 

He couldn't possibly do anything about it. Kai was the captain of the team, the quarterback. The dreamy guy.

And Kyungsoo was no cheerleader.

"You look like you're thinking," Baekhyun commented while they were walking. "Stop thinking. You look scary, no wonder people are scared when they see you."

"At least I know how to think."

"That was the lamest comeback I've ever heard, even for you." the older one laughed heartily, shoving Kyungsoo forward. "Come on, let's go there."

"Where, we were supposed to-"

"You really are blind as a bat, aren't you?" Baekhyun rolled his eyes. "Kai's there."

Kyungsoo had no idea why it always turned out like this, but there they were once again, Baekhyun dragging him forward to a table with only one person sitting on it, books sprawled out, laptop being forcefully closed. Kai seemed pissed off even from behind.

"Rough day?" Baekhyun questioned and sat himself just when Kai tilted his head to the side and revealed his beautiful side profile, sighing out quietly.

"You have no idea." Kyungsoo curiously took the seat next to Baekhyun with a mild smile, causing Kai to look at him, too. "Oh, you're here too..."

The shorter one opened his mouth to reply, or at least to greet, but Baekhyun was faster.

"So why are you here? You didn't get laid or something?"

Kyungsoo enjoyed the momentary disbelief that ran through Kim Jongin's features before the captain of the football team rolled his eyes.

"I have exams and I know nothing. I'm done for. Also I am waiting for a friend."

"Stop being melodramatic," Baekhyun grabbed one of the textbooks and turned it around to see the cover, grimacing lightly. "Math. Fuck this, I can't help you with that...But hey, Soo can!"

The shorter one felt really uncomfortable when Kai looked up to him, his eyes lingering on him for a long time, intently studying him.

"Can you?"

"Well, I.." Kyungsoo started and he hated himself for speaking up with such a small voice, but that was one of the things Kim Kai could do to him. Of course he could. He wanted to scream,  _yes_ , yes he'd help Kai, because he was just a pathetic love-struck teenager and he'd do anything to make him like him back, even if it meant sacrificing his own studying time for him. 

However, as he was searching for the words to deliver those thoughts and as Kai kept on looking at him intensely, almost as if wondering whether there was a single chance in the world for his request to be rejected, a new voice resounded close to them.

"Jongin!" 

The three heads turned to the side and Kyungsoo saw a tall, skinny boy jogging towards them, puffy lips stretched in a gentle smile. Baekhyun jugged his chin at him as if greeting him and a wide grin made its way to Kai's face when said boy clasped his hands on his shoulders. So that must have been the friend Kai was waiting for...

"Hey, hey, we'll be late, come on!" the guy said as soon as he reached them, a small smile on his face, when Jongin started shoving his books in his bag." So I was talking with Ravi and he is devastated cause you've been so busy with the team these days and you totally forgot about us."

"I haven't, it was just intense, the first game is in less than two weeks," Kai replied and Kyungsoo couldn't take his eyes off the genuine smile on the younger one's features as he kept on staring at that boy. 

"Yeah, well, you better fucking win it cause I barely lived these last weeks." the guys draped an arm over Kai's shoulder and after a small wave and the captain's rushed 'See you at tonight's practice, guys', he started pulling him away. 

And Kyungsoo just stood in his place, the smile on his lips long gone, as he looked at the way these two were standing so close to each other, arms draped around each other. He didn't listen to Baekhyun when he started talking about a technique he'd seen and that he planned on showing to Suho for the game book. He didn't listen, but just watched until Kai and the guy disappeared from his sight.

That's when he whipped his head around to interrupt Baekhyun and his rambling.

"Who was that guy?"

"Hm? That was Taemin."

"Yeah, but.... _who is he_?" Kyungsoo muttered and Baekhyun scoffed.

"A friend. Why?"

"Just asking."

There was a little moment of silence, which Kyungsoo used to think about it. Who had this guy been and why had he called Kai Jongin and why had he held him so tight. His gut wasn't feeling well when he reached the thought that it must be a lover of Kim Kai, maybe a boyfriend.

No, scratch that. If he had a boyfriend Kyungsoo would have surely known, right? The entire college would have known whether the quarterback of the football team, aka the most popular guy, had finally found himself somebody. 

"So you're just asking or you are 'just asking' like last time you were interrogating me about Kai?"

"Shut up."

"You totally like him," Baekhyun giggled quietly, mostly to himself and Kyungsoo didn't hit him, although there was a strong urge to do so.

He didn't, because Baekhyun wasn't wrong.

* * *

Kai was pleased with tonight's practice but given the fact that he was falling behind schedule with his studying and that he knew close to nothing about math from his last semester, he kind of didn't want it to end. Because then he'd have to go back to the dorms and study. Probably cry himself to sleep after that.

But practice couldn't go on forever and he couldn't hold Kyungsoo behind because he was one of the few that were actually giving their all and it wouldn't feel right. It wouldn't be fair. 

So now he was with the rest of the guys, getting dressed, wistfully shaking his head to Luhan's offer for grabbing McDonald's on the way to the frat house. He didn't have time to waste and he knew that if he went out now he wouldn't be back in his room anytime soon. And he couldn't have that. Not with that maths quiz coming up.

He was sitting quietly waiting for the others to dress, when his eyes glided over the team players and focused on Kyungsoo, who was tying his shoes up. And that's when something clicked in his head.

"Hey! Hey, Kyungsoo!" he basically darted to the other side of the locker room when Kyungsoo looked up to him, all big, round eyes and slightly parted, soft looking lips. 

"Yes?"

"Today....Baek said you could help me with math and...look, I am a mess right now, alright. I haven't been showing up to the lectures because of the team and I have no idea how to deal with functions and with stereometry, so it would be really nice if somebody could help me out..." Jongin looked at the shorter one again, exhaling slowly. "So if you understand it and if you have the time to...would you mind saving me?"

Kai looked expectingly at the way Kyungsoo opened his mouth, but then closed it again, looking away. He didn't like the look of hesitation, and maybe panic washed over him because if Kyungsoo rejected he'd probably ask somebody from his class to help him out, but that meant that every annoying fangirl of his would find out and they wouldn't leave him alone. So he sighed deeply and said what he usually didn't have to, because everybody was more than willing to spend time with him. And Kai knew it...and maybe he was sometimes making use of it, but that wasn't the case now. This time it was important.

"Please!" 

He saw the surprise on Kyungsoo's face before the shorter one nodded quietly and Kai simply beamed, feeling somehow lighter. He reached down and ruffled the other one's hair and got these eyes to widen even more in shock, before he chuckled lowly.

"Thank you, Kyungsoo, I owe you!"

He didn't stay behind, because it was late already and he had to lock up the changing rooms, so he went back to his locker to collect his stuff. However, a very scandalized looking Sehun was leaning there. Kai gave him a look, before shoving him away to get to his stuff.

"What the hell was that for?" the youngest member of the team asked.

"You were in my way?"

"Not that, you moron. I meant the whole 'let me pat Kyungsoo's head' thing. Are you high?"

"No," Kai closed his locker and turned around, leaning on it to look at Kyungsoo and to see him looking away the second their eyes met for a second. It caused him to smile. "He's cute, don't you think so?"

Kai didn't actually stay to listen to Sehun's reply because he was almost 100% sure that he'd punch him if he heard it.

But the younger one followed Kai moving towards the sinks with a confused expression, before sighing out, highly confused.

"Since when are football players supposed to be cute?" he mumbled and smacked Luhan's forearm. "Hey! Is Kai drunk?"

"Hm, I don't think so." Luhan looked up to the younger one. "Why?"

"It's nothing," Sehun mumbled, shoving his jersey in his bag, before getting up again, eyebrows furrowed, as he looked at Kyungsoo for a second. "Hey, Lulu...do you think I'm cute?"

The older one choked on the water he was drinking.

* * *

"Do I look good?"

"Hello? Earth to Kyungsoo? You're not going to Milan's fashion week, you're only going to fucking tutor Kai." Baekhyun rolled his eyes. "Besides, it's hard to dress to impress when all clothes you own are black."

"You underestimate black," Kyungsoo replied, throwing another look in the mirror. As if he needed Baekhyun's opinion anyway.

"At least smile, you moron. You look like you're headed for a funeral or something. And it's not a good vibe."

"It's easy to judge, isn't it?" Kyungsoo muttered, causing the other one to grin.

"Fun, too. You look like a black hole."

Kyungsoo was seconds away from grabbing the closest book to throw at Baekhyun, but that would be a disgrace for the book. Besides, his roommate's phone rang with the sickeningly sweet melody the latter had for Chanyeol, so before Kyungsoo could even form a proper reply, Baekhyun was already chatting gleefully with the other football player. 

" _Moron_ ," Kyungsoo muttered and stared back at his reflection in the mirror. He wouldn't let Baekhyun's words get to him - he looked good in his skinny jeans and the dark grey T-shirt, hugging his torso. And that was something Kyungsoo wasn't hiding anymore, not after the training he'd gotten in the past weeks. Football could be scary, but it also had its benefits, such as providing muscle. He ran his fingers though his already messy hair and grabbed his bag.

"I'm going."

"Have fu-...wait, Kyungsoo!" Baekhyun called after him, lowering the phone for a second. "You'll be gone for a few hours, right?"

"I guess..."

"Perfect," Baekhyun grinned, pulling the phone back up. "He's out, we have the room to ourselves, Channie."

This time, Kyungsoo didn't hesitate to throw the closest thing in his reach and that happened to be a plushy. Nevertheless, his throw was violent and he was satisfied with the pained sound that emitted from Baekhyun's mouth when the toy hit him straight in the face.

"Touchdown..." Kyungsoo whispered with a smug smirk before escaping the room. 

* * *

Kai was already waiting in the college's library, sitting on one of the massive wooden tables. He was tapping on his thigh unconsciously, looking around. This place was quiet, he noted, perfect for studying. He somehow felt that by the end of their studying sessions, he'd hate it, but that was probably just the math in the whole thing.

But it was a priority, so Kai was grateful that Kyungsoo had agreed to help him out. He needed to get good results, because repeating the year definitely wasn't something he wanted. Besides, he had his own ego to boost, even if it was by proving that he was smart. Which he was.

"Hey!" he heard a quiet call from a familiar voice and he looked up. Kyungsoo was approaching the table and there was a wide smile on his face. "Ready for studying?"

But he couldn't answer, as the latter continued moving forward and Kai just couldn't stop his eyes from sliding down the small frame, clad in simple clothes, that revealed the outlines of a body, that he hadn't even seen in the locker rooms before. Kyungsoo looked hot with the T-shirt revealing his biceps and with those tight black jeans hugging thick thighs in ways that Kai did not want to think about right now.

And thankfully, Kyungsoo sat down and Kai came back to his senses, looking up to the messy black hair with a red tint to it and the round, brown eyes with a sharp look, that made the younger one feel smaller in his place.

"Uh...yeah." he cleared his throat and finally managed to look away towards the books. "Studying. Let's do this."

* * *

"I think that's enough for today," Kyungsoo muttered at some point when he saw Kai struggling to understand the formula. They had been revising stuff for the past four hours and in all honesty, Kyungsoo was exhausted from explaining. Right, Kai wasn't an idiot and he did understand the stuff rather quickly, but every person had their limits. Kai's started showing up after the third hour.

"You think?" the team captain looked up and Kyungsoo nodded with what had to be a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, you did a really good job. We'll continue tomorrow." 

"Yes, let's have lots of fun with trigonometry..." Kai sighed out, but smiled nonetheless, as he started shoving the books in his bag. "Thanks, Kyungsoo. You really are a savior."

"Don't mention it," was all the shorter one could reply, standing up. His legs felt stiff after sitting for so long, but he didn't mind that. Instead, he looked out the window and the darkness of the sky amazed him. It really had gotten late.

"Let's go," Kai appeared next to him with a now more enthusiastic smile. However, Kyungsoo motioned for him to wait a second, as he fished his phone out.

                    To: Annoying №1 

__  tell me you're done pls I wanna sleep

 

**From:**  Annoying №1 

                                                                                                                                          1 more hour and I'll love you forever

 

                    To:  Annoying №1 

__   fucker.

 

The shorter one sighed out and almost threw his head back in exasperation, angrily shoving the phone back in his pocket. Damn Byun Baekhyun and also damn Park Chanyeol and their hormones. He wasn't even sure that he wanted to go back to his room after their nasty sessions. 

"What is it?" Kai questioned and Kyungsoo tried not to frown.

"Ah, it's nothing...let's...let's go."

They walked out of the library and Kyungsoo felt the slightly chilly air of the evening. There were still students walking around and it was calm. Kai, next to him, seemed beyond glad to be outside and not bound to a chair.

"I can send you home, your dorm is on the way to mine anyway," Kai suggested and if it weren't for the situation Byun Baekdumb had put him in, Kyungsoo would have probably been squeeling on the inside. However, he had to bite down the insults that were about to flow out of his mouth and tried to smile. 

"I can't go to the dorm."

"Hm? Why not?" the team captain seemed puzzled and Kyungsoo tried hard to ignore the cute way his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Instead, he let out a shaky chuckle.

"Baekhyun and Chanyeol ar-"

"Say no more." Kai interrupted him with a cheerful bark of laughter and an awkward shake of his head. Kyungsoo only smiled weakly again, before looking around.

"It's OK. It's nice outside, I'll find something to do. Or I'll just go back in the library and get something to read or-"

"Don't be silly." Kai interrupted him again and this time Kyungsoo looked up to see the genuinely friendly expression of his captain. Kai was looking at him with no shade of doubt, as he smiled again. "I'd offer you to come with me in my room, but..."

"That sounded wrong," Kyungsoo blurted out before he could even process the words of the other one. And he only realized what he'd said when he looked up with wide eyes and saw Kai with his mouth slightly open. "No, I mean, I...I'd love to come with you in your room, but you-....I mean, no, I wouldn't come for....it sounds alright but...I mean...o _h my god_."

There was a hard urge to slap himself, to probably hide his face and don't look up before he was sure that Kai was gone. However, the taller one was still looking at him with a piercing gaze and there was a trace of a smirk on his lips.

"I was trying to say that Lay would probably be sleeping already, but...yeah." Kai fixed the strap of his bag. "Well since you have nothing to do, do you want to go grab a beer or something? Kill some time?"

"You don't have to." Kyungsoo barely muttered, feeling his face becoming hotter and hotter with every passing second. He still couldn't process what had happened - how the hell had he been so dumb to blurt out this bullshit. 

"You spent four hours teaching my sorry ass maths. I owe you at least that." Kai smiled and that somehow calmed Kyungsoo down. Probably he was used to crazy people by now, he was popular in this place. Bad thing that he thought Kyungsoo was now one of them....the older one just wanted to slam his head in some tree. "Come on, let's go."

And so they went, quietly moving through the valleys of the campus, talking about random things, mostly about football and about practice. About the upcoming game, about the qualifications, about the league.

They were supposed to drink beer, as Kai had suggested earlier, but when they got on the street and faced an ice cream parlor, the younger one had pointed at it eagerly and Kyungsoo had been more than happy to agree. He wasn't that much of a beer person anyway. 

"One choco and mint," Kai smiled at the woman behind the counter and then turned to Kyungsoo. "For you? My treat."

"Wait, you don't-"

"Shrimpy _, please."_  Kai stared at him until Kyungsoo started feeling uncomfortable and turned towards the worker. 

"Um, cotton candy," Kyungsoo replied hesitantly, noting the uplift of Kai's lip. "Hey, you don't have to treat me, I can-"

"Cotton candy? I thought you'd want something more adult-ish."

"Why would I? Cotton candy is delicious." Kyungsoo replied and Kai only smiled down at him.

"You're cute."

If it were somebody else calling him cute, Kyungsoo would have probably jumped to rip off their throat or something. But these sweet words were coming out of Kim Kai's mouth and instead of anger, there was something else creeping up in Kyungsoo's chest, rising up to his cheeks. He hated himself for blushing for the second time in less than ten minutes. All because of the taller guy standing in front of him.

That taller guy who probably simply viewed him as a friend from the team, as the football player who was surprisingly strong for his small body. Just a friend.

And Kyungsoo had to constantly remind himself that Kai was out with him only because of Byun Baekhyun. And once again, Kyungsoo didn't know whether he should kill the latter or thank him later on. He was just confused.

They walked around more, slowly eating from their ice creams, chatting once again about college and the team, wondering what sort of players the other universities had. And at some point Kai switched his team captain instinct on and started talking postively, that after that much training they'd surely win. That he trusted his team. Kyungsoo could only smile. 

Before he knew it they had reached the dorms with their slow pace. At the stairs of the E-building there were two figures basically glued to each other and Kyungsoo didn't even need his glasses to know that those were his annoying roommate and his lover. 

"Now, now, look at that," Kai murmured. "One would have thought that they haven't been fucking until now."

"Ew." Kyungsoo scrunched his nose and started walking forward, Kai by his side.

"Do you think they did it on your bed?"

_ "WHAT?!"  _

"I'm just wondering..." Kai looked down and smirked at the distressed expression that must have been gracing Kyungsoo's face. If he ever even found out that Baekhyun had dared do something like this, he'd probably kill him. Without hesitation. "HEY FUCKBOYS! Had a nice evening?"

"Oh, more than nice," Chanyeol grinned as soon as they focused their gazes on them. "What are you doing here, cap?"

"Well, because of you two Kyungsoo couldn't come back so...yeah..."

Kyungsoo could swear that Baekhyun's eyes flickered towards him, a smirk on his lips. And a smirk on Baekhyun's lips meant nothing good. Kyungsoo froze in his spot, because when the other one opened up his mouth he knew that nothing good would come out. And he was right.

"I feel bad now. Do you want me to leave the room empty for you two?"

"I think me and shrimpy aren't ready for room visits  yet  ," Kai said with a calm tone, lightly shoving Kyungsoo's shoulder with his own. It was supposed to be a joke, but Kyungsoo's face was burning because the team captain was teasing him for what he'd said earlier and two pairs of confused eyes were looking at them, burning with curiosity. Judging by Baekhyun's look, too, the latter wouldn't leave him alone until he told him about it later in their room. "Anyway, it would be funny watching you try to play tomorrow, Baek..."

Kyungsoo's lips curved up into a sadistic smile at Kai's comment and at the light pink shade that graced Baekhyun's cheeks. Chanyeol only laughed loudly, cheerfully.

"I think you should mind your own business, you idiot." Baekhyun snapped after a little while and Kyungsoo just shook his head, stepping forward. 

"It's getting late." he announced and Chanyeol took that as a sign to lean down and capture Baekhyun's lips once again. And while they were engaged in their parting, Kyungsoo turned towards Kai. "Thanks. For...um, for staying with me and for the ice cream..."

"It's OK, it was nice," the younger one shrugged it off with a soft smile. "And thanks for helping me."

Kyungsoo smiled one last time before Chanyeol gripped Kai's shoulder.

"We together, man?"

"Yeah," the team captain nodded, throwing one last look at Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, nodding at them, as if saying 'bye'. "Let's go."

So the two set off not so quietly, with Chanyeol's booming voice and his gigantic arms flying around excitedly as he spoke. Kai beside him was just walking and probably listening and Kyungsoo couldn't believe how nice he looked even from behind, how lean his body was, how perfect everything about him was. 

He was falling too hard, and after that night, it was even scarier. Especially when Baekhyun leaned down with his teasing smirk.

"If you think I didn't hear that shit about ice cream, you're wrong. You better explain everything or I swear to God, Soo..."

"Shut up." Kyungsoo finally turned around and tried to hide his smile from his roommate's face. 

"You better tell me everything, or I will find out by interrogating Kai, I swear!"

"Instead of being a nosy bastard tell me something else..." Kyungsoo turned around just before reaching the door, an intimidating look in his eyes. "You and Chanyeol haven't gotten anywhere near my bed, have you?"

He saw Baekhyun's expression slowly changing from the teasing smirk to a wider grin and his jaw dropped in complete and utter shock.

_"Oh my god..._ "

 


	5. -4-

04

 

Kyungsoo was getting used to seeing Kai leaning over a stack of books with furrowed eyebrows and a very confused expression. He was getting used to seeing him try hard and to excitedly smile when he got a problem right. He was getting used to the bubbly personality that the younger one had.

However, as soon as they stepped on the field another part of Kai was taking over and Kyungsoo couldn’t quite decide what he liked more – the cute kid who kept on smiling or the strict team captain. Maybe in the end, he had fallen for both. After all, people had to search for balance.

And speaking of balance, it was kind of easier now for Kyungsoo to combine his studies with the tutoring for Kai and with all the trainings. He would even find himself pondering about life at certain point of the day, when he had nothing else to do.

“Hey, Soo!” he heard somebody call him in the already loud cafeteria and he turned around to see Chen frantically waving his hand in the air. Some of the guys were sitting next to him. “Come sit here!”

Kyungsoo had nothing to think about, he just turned on his heels and headed towards them, acknowledging the friendly smile of Lay, the welcoming nod of Xiumin and Tao’s little wave.

“Where were you going? The cafeteria is full…” Chen pouted and Kyungsoo shrugged, when he slumped down beside him.

“I would have found somewhere to sit.”

“Ridiculous. Sit with us from now on.” Kyungsoo could only smile at the offer, before Chen leaned in to talk again, rather enthusiastically. “So I was just telling the guys about a fundraising event, it would be totally awesome if we do that. We can buy new stuff for the team.”

“Like what?” Xiumin bit back and judging by his tone, he wasn’t that fond of such an idea. “We already have uniforms and that’s basically all we need.”

“Our equipment is shit,” Chen shook his head with a wince, turning back to Kyungsoo. “Lay said he’s in. Tao thinks we need a better design for the uniforms, so I take that as a ‘yes’, too. Tell me you agree! If I get half of the team to join me in this I could probably make it happen.”

“Make what happen?”

Kyungsoo looked up with the rest of the guys just in time to see Suho and Kris arriving with trays in their hands. And as soon as he saw the assistant of the coach, Chen’s entire face lit up with his mischievous smirk.

“Ah, Suho! Exactly who I needed to see!”

* * *

Kai raised an eyebrow as Suho emerged in the locker rooms with Jongdae by his side and said that he had an announcement to make. It was kind of awkward while half of the guys were still half naked, but Suho didn’t seem to be affected by that. Instead, he tapped on one of the lockers with his folder, causing the noise to attract the attention of the football players.

“Listen, guys!” he started off and Kai frowned. What was this about? The only times Suho was making such ‘meetings’ it was to announce new tactics for their game plan or to warn them not to be late for games or something like that.

And as far as Kai was concerned, this couldn’t be a new game plan. They were only a few days away from the first game in the college league and if the coach and Suho were going to change the plan now, then Kai would personally strangle them and take over the main lead.

“So Chen here came up with an idea for us to make a fundraising event.” Suho announced and Kai could swear that Xiumin beside him groaned. However, he did not pay attention to that, since he was a tad too busy wondering exactly what they needed a fundraising event for. Suho delivered an answer almost right away. “There have been complaints about the quality of the team’s uniforms and maybe through this fundraising event we could gather money to buy new ones.”

Kai puffed out the air in his cheeks as the guys around him started discussing the idea.

“But there’s nothing wrong with the uniforms…” Baekhyun offered in confusion and only got Chen to growl in his direction.

“Listen here, you’re from the running backs and not from the defensive linemen, so shut up for a second, will you?” Chen stepped forward and crossed his hands in front of his chest. “Come on, guys, really? The shoulder pads are shit, most of the chin straps are torn. Let’s not even start with the stupid thigh pads, I think I still have a bruise from when Luhan kicked me.”

Kai sighed after Chen’s examples, because technically the latter wasn’t wrong. Maybe most of the guys were on the same wavelength, because they started muttering and nodding around them.

“So what do you think? Kai?”

“Look, you’re right, but we can’t do this. Can’t the college just give us the money?”

“Are you living in a daydream?” Suho raised an eyebrow. “Of course they won’t just give us the money. I barely even got permission to organize such an event.”

Kai shifted in his position, having a staredown battle with Chen and Suho. He couldn’t be sure whether he could get to reason with them. And obviously with more than half of the team, because suddenly he could also hear complaints about the cleats and about the jerseys from behind.

“We don’t have the time for fundraising events. We should be training.” Kai frowned and wove his hand around. “can’t the cheerleaders do it?”

“That’s low. We can’t make them work and then take the money for ourselves.” Lay almost whined and Kai threw his roommate a look. He was right, of course. So he turned around lightly and looked at the faces of his teammates, seeing excitement and consent on most of them. Only Xiumin seemed somehow distressed about it. Even Kyungsoo was smiling mildly and when their eyes met for a second and the shorter one nodded, Kai sighed.

“Fine!” he sighed out. “What even is this event you’re talking about? Cause I swear, Jongdae, if this is some of your shit, I am not going to participate! Is it cake sales? Or is it a kiss pavilion?”

“Even better!” the shorter one grinned again and Kai started feeling uncomfortable in his skin at the sight of that smile. “Car wash!”

The locker room fell silent for a second and there was a loud thump when Xiumin jumped up from the bench and faced all his teammates with a smug, maybe even threatening smirk.

“I told you to listen to me, little morons, I fucking told you!”

The only thing Kai could do when there was an uproar of sudden protest was to groan.

* * *

Kyungsoo was frowning. If he’d known that Chen had car wash in mind for this fundraising event then he would have been on Xiumin’s side. However, even after the protests, Chen and Suho somehow managed to persuade everybody that it was a good idea.

And Kyungsoo had gone to the venue very skeptically, watching the guys put up posters and stands. Car washes didn’t work out like this – neither of them planned to go in scarce shorts and most importantly, none of them had boobs. And without those, Kyungsoo doubted they’d get any clients.

And well, he was wrong.

He couldn’t believe just how many people were coming in here – so many, that he was already tired from scrubbing and from cleaning cars. And what surprised him was the fact that almost all of them were students from their college.

Now, Kyungsoo didn’t have half a mind to think that they were here for the wash – he knew how reality worked and he was aware of the fact that the football team was popular. Like, ‘I’ll give them money for nothing just to see them up close outside my car’ kind of popular.

“Dude, I swear I see this car for the sixth time already!” Chen’s voice boomed in disbelief at some point of the hot day, jugging his chin at the car that Kai was now standing in front of. Kyungsoo lazily followed his gaze and saw an irritated expression on their team captain’s face when the latter dragged the water hose in the direction of the spotless, red car.

And thus, Kyungsoo’s point was proven – people were coming here not because they wanted to get their cars washed. They were coming to see the football players leaning over their cars in wet clothes.

“Stop frowning,” Luhan almost hissed through a smile in his direction later that day. “We’re trying to gather money here, not to beat the crap out of people!”

Kyungsoo was about to snap something rude, but Luhan sprawled out his hand towards a car that had just arrived and the younger one could only look at him darkly, before turning around. He was pretty sure that the shiny black car didn’t need cleaning, but after all, he was part of the team. And as such he had to contribute somehow. He rolled up the sleeves of his T-shirt because of the heat, forced a smile and headed forward towards the window of the driver.

The car was full of girls, probably their age, and as soon as he approached them, he could hear them giggle and could see them smile at him. This made him feel somehow uncomfortable, but he progressed nonetheless.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” He greeted and the blonde in the front grinned. “May I help you?”

“Sure, cutie,” she replied. “Make it extra soapy.”

Kyungsoo tried hard not to cringe at the words – as if he was going to do that anyway. He was prepared to step away from the car and to take the sponges, when the girl touched his arm and leaned slightly towards him.

“And we’ll pay double if you remove your shirt.”

Now Kyungsoo would have probably said something bity (if he managed to think of it), but he didn’t even get the chance to because somebody broke the contact between their arms by literally shoving himself there, heading towards the bucket with the sponges.

Kyungsoo looked up to Kai, who leaned on the car casually and stared at the girl.

“This is car washing, not a strip club.” Kai said, his voice slightly chilly. “But if you insist on one, I can give you coordinates.”

The group of girls seemed a little flustered, but instead of speaking, only rolled up their window when Kai jugged his chin at it, turning towards Kyungsoo with a playful smirk, as he proceeded to splash the front window with water.

“Popular with the ladies, I see…”

“That’s a first, actually.” Kyungsoo furrowed his brows, as he joined Kai at the windows with his own sponge. “But look at you, getting people to return after they’ve already had their cars washed.”

“It’s because I am charming.”

“No, it’s because every outline of your body can be seen through that white wifebeater of yours.” Kyungsoo pointed out and only earned himself another entertained smile.

“Is it that bad?”

Kyungsoo made the mistake to let his eyes dance on the upper part of Kim Kai’s body – it was as if he wasn’t wearing a shirt at all, the white thin material was sticking to his toned chest, revealing the curves of his muscles. And he realized that he was staring, when Kai leaned against the car to have better access to the middle part of the window. He cleared his throat.

“Well…the sight definitely isn’t…unpleasant. So yeah. That’s why they’re coming back.”

“Isn’t unpleasant?” Kai smirked and by that moment Kyungsoo was sure that he was messing around with him. “So you mean it’s pleasant?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So you implied I’m sexy?”

“Will you stop?”

Instead of an answer, he got a quiet chuckle. Kyungsoo was pretty sure that his cheeks were red by now, so he hurried to hide at the back of the car, pouring his anger into the angry scrubbing. He didn’t look up to Kai until he was done with the soap. That’s when he finally moved to the side and stared up to only see the younger one already looking at him.

“You ready?” he asked and Kyungsoo nodded, noting the way the captain grabbed the hose and directed it towards the car. He moved away and watched as the soap fell onto the ground, leaving only a shining black surface. Kyugnsoo sighed – at least if the architecture thing didn’t work out he could start business for car washing. He was good at it obviously.

“Hey, Kyungsoo..” Kai called and the shorter one immediately turned in his direction. “Why do you wear a black shirt in such a hot day?”

“Black is nice,” the shorter one shrugged and saw a fake pout gracing Kai’s lips.

“It’s definitely not nice for this….” Kyungsoo was about to question for what, but seeing Kai raise his hands with the hose in them, he froze, giving the younger one a look.

_“Don’t you dare…”_

Kai didn’t seem to be listening, because he was already smiling like a little child and Kyungsoo was contemplating the idea of running away. However, only seconds after that he felt a strong jet of water colliding with his chest and the only thing he could do was raise his arms to hide his face from the splashes.

He didn’t mean to let out a surprised scream after he’d known what would happen, but the water felt colder on his torso than it did on his hands. It also felt weird, because it was tickling him.

And the worst part – he couldn’t escape because wherever he moved, Kai was following him with the stream of water, laughing maniacally.

“YAH!” he screamed out through fits of his own laughter and choking. “It’s cold!”

“No, it’s refreshing!”

“Refreshing, my ass,” Kyungsoo almost growled, as he suddenly leaned forward and grabbed the bucket with the soapy water. “I’ll show you what’s refreshing, you bastard.”

“Don’t do it!” Kai warned, still spraying water at Kyungsoo, but warily stepping backwards. And the shorter one would have none of that.

If Kyungsoo was grateful to the intense football training for anything, it would be for making him stronger physically – it wasn’t hard to lift up the heavy bucket and to sprint in Kai’s direction, to laugh when he heard the younger one let out his own agitated scream, and to easily turn the bucket around, so that its content would fall directly on the team captain.

In the few seconds that Kai was using to hide his eyes from the soap water that was flying towards him, he lowered his hands and Kyungsoo used the chance to grab the hose out of his hand and turn it towards him, the jet now colliding with the Kai’s back.

“Stop it!

“There’s no giving up!” Kyungsoo laughed, running a hand through his wet hair, watching the younger boy laugh in front of him, bent in half, trying to avoid the water.

“Alright, alright! I give up! Now stop this!”

“Only if you ask nicely!”

“Kyungsoo, _please_!”

The shorter one stopped the water, smiling widely as he watched how Kai heavily lifted himself up and pushed his hair back, water dripping from his hands and clothes and locks. But on his face also there was no trace of hard feelings – only a cheerful smile.

“I lost at my own game.” He muttered as he got closer to Kyungsoo. “I’ll know not to mess with you from now on.”

“You better, or I’ll throw the ball at your head next time we practice.”

 “Be professional please,” Kai laughed, jugging his chin at Kyungsoo’s front. “This shirt you’re wearing really isn’t nice. How are we going to get more customers if it doesn’t reveal anything?”

“You’re enough for both of us.” Kyungsoo noted, this time not looking down at the wifebeater, because he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to handle it. It was enough that Kai’s hair was wet, droplets of water falling from the ends. And it had a rather strong impact on the older one.

“Hey! You two!” both of them turned around and only then did Kyungsoo realize that they’d attracted quite a lot of attention. Not only the team members, but also the people from the cars were staring. Some were laughing, others seemed confused and thirds (Baekhyun) were giving thumbs up with wide Cheshire grins. And suddenly Kyugnsoo just wanted the earth to open and swallow him whole. However, the hell continued – Chanyeol opened his mouth again. “Are you done reenacting ‘Flashdance’? Or should we clear the venue?”

Kyungsoo could feel his face heating, because every word was dripping with sarcasm. He didn’t even want to think about the way they looked now – two teenagers in wet clothes standing in the middle of a puddle.

Kai’s reaction was different. He laughed out loud, clasping his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

“You can join us later, Yeol!”

“Me, too!” Baekhyun chirped loudly and Kyungsoo gave him a look. “What?! It looked fun!”

“So you want to be wet?” Kyungsoo winced because the last thing he’d wanted to hear were Chanyeol’s words, filled with hidden meanings, that made the short one cringe. Instead, he ran his hands through his hair again, trying to get rid of the water.

“So…do you know how to dance?” Kai questioned from the side and Kyungsoo almost choked on the air he was breathing. “What? He said ‘Flashdance’! I can’t help thinking about, I don’t know, dancing!”

“Ah…hm…I can’t really dance. You?”

He looked up just in time to see a crooked smile on the captain’s lips and a shrug of his wide shoulders.

“A little….Come on, let’s go! We’re got cars to wash!” 

* * *

The day after the carwash was even happier, especially when Suho announced that they’ve gathered enough money for all the equipment they needed. And it was now Tao’s turn to chase the assistant around and to bother him about uniforms he had in mind, regarding the style.

Kai, however, was busy with something else. They’d finished practice and him and Kyungsoo were supposed to meet up later to study in the library again, but Kai had something else to do.

“Hey! Hey, Soo!” Kai called when the guys got out of the stadium and in the campus. The shorter one stopped in his tracks and he smiled up to him.

Kai genuinely like seeing that smile – it was kind of rare, for most of the time Kyungsoo kept to himself. However, these last two days had been miraculous. He’d gotten to see a cheerful expression on that face and he was loving it.

“Hey, about tonight…I won’t be able to make it on time probably, so I’ll text you if I’m going to be late. I don’t want you to wait alone or something…”

“Sure, but…” Kyungsoo seemed confused. “You don’t have my number. Or do you?”

“Oh, shit! Right!” Kai pulled out his phone and the expression of Kyungsoo was unreadable when he shoved the device in his smaller hands. Kai waited patiently for Kyungsoo to type in his phone number, which took quite a while, before he took the phone, typed in ‘Shrimpy’ and saved the new contact. “Well, now I have it, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

Kai nodded at him, putting the phone back in his pocket just when he noticed Taemin coming from the main alley. He raised his hand and wove it in the air, a smile appearing on his best friend’s face.

Kyungsoo turned slightly in front of him but didn’t say anything, so when Taemin jogged up to them and reached forward to teasingly tickle Jongin, the quarterback punched him playfully.

“How nice,” Taemin pretended to frown, as he turned towards Kyungsoo. “The new football guy, right? I heard two chicks talking about you today…”

“Did you, now…” Kyungsoo muttered dully, looking up. Taemin enthusiastically nodded, before tugging at Kai’s shirt.

“Anyway, let’s go, Jongin! We’ll be late for the movies!”

And there was practically nothing the youngest one could do except to smile at Kyungsoo.

“I’ll text you later! Bye, Soo…”

“Yeah…bye..”

And so Taemin turned him around and playfully nudged him in the shoulder, head lightly turned to look at their backs.

“He’s staring at us.” He muttered and almost chuckled, earning himself a nudge in the ribs. However, being the ‘best friend’ that he was, he used the chance to slip his hand around Jongin’s shoulder, still peeking. “He’s totally planning to kill me. I think he likes you.”

Kai pushed his best friend away and gave him a look, hardly concealing the tug of his lips. Taemin was grinning at him knowingly.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Kai protested, fixing his bag. “Anyway, they’ll be waiting in the movie theatre, right?”

“Yeah, I already called Ravi and Key. All of them are going there.”

“What about Minho?”

Kai looked at Taemin’s grin becoming smaller, kind of gentler.

“Yes. Minho too.”

And this time, it was him who grinned widely and who started the teasing first. As if he’d let Taemin live calmly after years of tormenting. As if he’d let those two sit next to each other in the cinema without dropping comments, without bothering his best friend with knowing looks and gestures.

But in the end, what mattered most after his night out with friends out, was that he fished his phone out and scrolled down to his newest contact.

**To:** Shrimpy

                              hey I just finished…when can we meet up?

 

**From:** Shrimpy

                                                                                                                                                It’s already too late, the library 

                                                                                                                                              is  closing in another ten minutes

 

Jongin bit on his lower lip, wondering what to do. A quick glance at his clock and he sighed. Maybe he’d just probably text Kyungsoo to meet him another day. That, if in the meantime another message hadn’t arrived.

**From:** Shrimpy

                                                                                                                                                   but Baek went out with Yeol 

                                                                                                                                                   so you can come in our room

 

  **From:** Shrimpy

I mean, if it’s ok with you

Jongin grinned and hid the screen from Taemin's curious eyes, fingers itching to write something sassy regarding their conversation from a few days ago. However, Kyungsoo was helping him out and he quite liked him with his heart shaped lips and water running down his shirt and dripping from his hair, with tight jeans hugging his thighs and-

 _OKAY ENOUGH._ Kai had to shake his head, before lifting the phone.

**** **To:** Shrimpy

Alright. I’ll be there in twenty

 


	6. -5-

05

“So you simply add that to the equation and then you use the formula and you’re done.” Kyungsoo tapped on the notebook and turned towards Kai, who was still scribbling down numbers on his papers.

There was something exciting about the fact that it was only the two of them in the little room, but judging by the captain’s expression, his sole purpose for the night was to learn how to apply Heron’s formula.  Kyungsoo’s gaze fell on Kai’s hand and the way his fingers were playing with the pen, as he bit on his lip, brows furrowed in frustration.

“Maybe we should take a break?” Kyungsoo suggested with a small smile and Kai looked up to him, shaking his head lightly.

“No, no. It’s OK, I can do it.”

“Look. You wrote that two plus seven equals ten. That’s genius.” Kyungsoo laughed. “Let’s just take a break. You’ve done more than enough for tonight.”

And it seemed like Kai had been waiting to hear this, because he threw the pen away and leaned his head back, emitting a groan.

“If I ever meet the person who invented math I’d probably punch them.”

“That would be the Egyptians.” Kyungsoo nodded thoughtfully, before standing up and approaching the little refrigerator, that Baekhyun kept next to his bed. “Do you want something to drink? He has tonic and beer and…I think that’s orange juice, but it’s been here for more than two months so I’m not really sure.”

“Let’s not risk it,” Kai grinned. “ A beer.”

Kai caught the can effortlessly and Kyungsoo thought for a second about the way he would throw the ball at him on the field and about the precise movements of their quarterback. Kai was somehow gracious in whatever he did and Kyungsoo couldn’t comprehend it – especially when the latter was on the field shouting commands and tackling people.

“So what happened with those new uniforms?” he asked, taking a can for himself, sitting down on his own bed.

“Well Suho and the coach purchased them. Tao was throwing a tantrum, because he didn’t want to stick to the old colors.” Kai winced, taking a sip from his drink. “I swear, that boy…he’ll probably try to bedazzle them when they arrive or something.”

“I see…” Kyugnsoo nodded and it felt awkward, sitting on his bed and not looking towards Kai, sipping from his beer.

They were alone in the damn room and Kyungsoo was nervous, mostly because of his inappropriate thoughts. He shouldn’t have invited him, when he knew that in the end he’d end up being awkward.

But Kai already knew him and Kyungsoo has suspicions that in the other’s eyes he was just a loser or something, so it was irrelevant at this point. His fingers tightened around the can.

“So…” Kai said, trying to break the silence. “What do you usually do when you’re alone?”

Kyungsoo almost choked on the drink at the question. Because there was no way in hell he’d admit to Kai that he was watching animes. No way in hell he’d make himself seem even lamer, although he really was.

“Um…nothing much, I just…listen to music, watch movies…clean around, because Baekhyun likes leaving his things everywhere. Like, what’s the point in making a diary if you’re going to throw it on my bed, really.”

“Wait, what?”

“Hm?” Kyungsoo looked up. “Movies and music, that’s-“

“No, no,” a smile was ghosting Kai’s lips. “Baekhyun has a diary?”

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “He threw a sissy fit last time I gave it back to him.”

“Kyungsoo, we should totally read it!” Kai said and there was a glint in his eyes and Kyungsoo kind of really loved that glint, so he couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

“If you want to find out about his sex life, then be my guest. Also his life struggles, but mostly his sex life.”

“That’s amazing, you have so much teasing information, it’s unreal! Why don’t you use it against him?!”

“Because he has just as much information on me,” Kyungsoo muttered and before Kai could question him, he stood up, a smile on his lips. “You wanna see it? But this stays between us, right?”

“Hell yes!”

Kyungsoo knew that it was wrong, but  _oh well._

Kim Kai was Baekhyun’s friend from years, just like him. They’d known each other and judging by his roommate’s words, they were close, just like them. So generally Kyungsoo didn’t see a problem with sharing what he already knew. Besides, it wasn’t like Baekhyun had some deep thoughts whatsoever.

AND Kyungsoo enjoyed the smile that adorned Kai’s expression, so it was alright. Right?

Two steps forward and he was next to Baekhyun’s bed, ducking so he could lift the edge of the mattress and snake a hand underneath it to pull out the diary.

“That’s the worst place one could use for hiding stuff,” Kai shook his head, kneeling down next to the shorter one, who shrugged.

“Baekhyun’s dumb. And he trusts me, which is mistake number one.”

“So you’d betray him?”

“He’s my best friend.” Kyungsoo replied cautiously. “He lives to bother the hell out of me and I live to get my revenge. So that’s fair enough.”

“Good point.” Kai nodded and took the diary from Kyungsoo’s hands.

And maybe because he still had conscience, or maybe because he wasn’t that bad of a person, Kyungsoo flinched a little, as Kai opened the little book and his eyes started darting on the pages.

“Hey…what if we get caught?” he questioned, his voice hushed from the excitement in his veins. It wouldn’t be the best thing if his roommate decided to come back now.

“That’s the fun part.” The other one replied and Kyungsoo shot him a look.

“That’s fucked up,” Kyungsoo offered. “I prefer staying alive and Baekhyun could be really vicious sometimes, you know. I’ll have to sleep with my eyes open.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” Kai dismissed and for him probably those were some words but upon hearing it, Kyugnsoo breath hitched and his eyes probably doubled in size. Thank God that Kai wasn’t looking at him, but at the diary. He was able to at least live through his moment of shock in peace. To think that he’d ever hear such words under any circumstances had always been a dream, but there was Kim Kai, ruining his perfect, little world with his fascinated smirks and partial insolence. And Kyungsoo simply loved it.

“Oh my God, there we go, the sex part.” Kai half-groaned, half-laughed. “I’ll skip that…that boy is so boring, all he did in the summer was go on dates with Chanyeol and fuck him. I’ll just go to the last few days.”

Kyungsoo only shrugged and leaned forward, as Kai opened the diary on the bed and his eyes located the date and the content – Baekhyun was talking about the tryouts. Partially his thoughts, partially some sort of observance. And partially smugness that he’d made Kyungsoo try out. Kai was probably reading the same thing, because he turned around shortly with a smile, far gentler than the one before.

“I should probably thank him for that.” the captain said. “I really didn’t know that you’d be such a good center, shrimpy. You made the team whole again..”

“I just do my part” Kyungsoo managed to murmur, hearing an angel-like chuckle from the tanned male, as he skipped a few pages.

And Kyungsoo’s heart stopped.

Because Kai was on the page from the day Baekhyun had interrogated Kyungsoo after their first learning session. That evening Baekhyun had made a lot of assumptions and all of them had been right, but Kyungsoo would never admit that. However, that wouldn’t have stopped him from writing them down in his god damned diary.

And there was no way in hell Kyungsoo would let Kai find out that he was falling  head over heels for him through somebody else’s ramblings.

“Hey, Kai…I um…I think we need to continue now. It’s getting late and we should finish the chapter or-“

“No, wait, that’s the day you couldn’t come back home,” Kai laughed. “The day they were going at it like rabbits. I know it’s weird, but I really want to-“

“No, no, I think we really should leave this now and continue-“

Kai looked up to him with furrowed eyebrows and Kyungsoo was probably pale, because the brows arched even further.

“Are you OK?”

“Me, yeah, sure…I’m absolutely fine, just-“ Kyungsoo didn’t finish because Kai’s lips tugged in a smirk.

“Are you really that scared that Baekhyun will return now?”

“What?!..” Kyungsoo let out a breath, then shook off the confusion quickly. “Yes. Yes, actually I am.”

“Didn’t I tell you that I’d protect you, shrimpy? Besides, if he starts tormenting you, you can always use this against him.” Kai jabbed a finger in the little book, before turning his head around, directing his attention back to the words.

And Kyungsoo didn’t know whom he had to thank – the heavens, the gods, probably Satan, or maybe just his luck, for what happened next. They heard voices through the door and probably because of their bickering just now they hadn’t realized that those voices were actually really close.

And as soon as the laughter was identified as Baekhyun’s, both males in the room looked up to each other with wide eyes and Kai mouthed a ‘are you an oracle or something’ and Kyungsoo could only let out a maniacal giggle, as he grasped the diary out of Kai’s hands.

He really hated the fact that his hands were shaking as he turned towards the bed and tried to lift off the mattress but messed up the bed sheets. And he could already hear the voices in front of the room.

“Damn,” he whispered and reached out forward again, but a hand interjected with his and suddenly Kai (who seemed to have paled too) was struggling with the mattress, half leaning over Kyungsoo, whose hands were still clutching the diary.

Kyungsoo shivered when he heard the door open and the laughter of Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He shivered and just in the moment Kai lifted the mattress and he was able to throw the diary inside. The team captain let go of the mattress he had been holding himself onto.

Kyungsoo didn’t know what happened, he lost balance. But just when the other two stepped in, the mattress was already down and Kai had fallen on top of Kyungsoo, who was sandwiched between the floor and the team captain’s body.

And in any other situation, he would have probably been extremely excited and probably even aroused. But now, when the laughter of the other duo died out at the sight and they let out surprised noises instead, Kyungsoo felt like burying himself somewhere. Possible alive. But he was also feeling immense relief, so it was OK. Besides, those were Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He didn’t care what they were saying. Or so he thought.

“This is not what you think it is!” Kyugnsoo blurted out. “We were just…um…just…”

“Actually it’s exactly what you think it is!” Kai provided, eyes flashing towards Kyungsoo with a ‘what the fuck are you doing we can’t tell him we actually read his diary’ look. Proof again that his acting skills sucked. However, he flashed a smirk at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, before lifting himself up and offering a hand to the speechless Kyungsoo.

“Look at that,” Baekhyun finally spoke up, taunt in his voice as he leaned against Chanyeol. “Our Kyungsoo is finally growing up.”

_“Oh my God…”_

* * *

“Just admit it already,” Baekhyun threw the bag over his shoulder as they proceeded to enter the locker rooms.

“I have nothing to admit.”

“Yes, you do, you fucker.” Kyungsoo glared at his roommate. “You two were totally making out!”

“Who was making out?”

Kyungsoo whipped his head around just when they entered the locker room and Chen grinned at them, while changing into is football attire.

And in the same time he almost shouted ‘Nobody!’, Baekhyun turned to their team members with a smug smile.

“Kai and Kyungsoo,” the other one grinned. “...on the floor in our room.”

There was silence for a few seconds and all Kyungsoo could do was feel the heat in his cheeks as the guys stared at him, blinking wordlessly. Only Chanyeol was snickering in the background, because he had also been there.

“Wait you…” Sehun stepped forward, his bitch-face on. “...you and Kai were making out?”

“No!”

“Yes!” Baekhyun insisted, leaving Kyungsoo’s side. “Me and Channie walked in on them! Kai was all over him and-“

_“Baekhyun…”_

“…and Kyungsoo was beneath him and they were totally gonna fuck if we hadn’t come back home.”

“That’s not true!”

“IT IS!” Chanyeol jumped from his bench and united forces with his boyfriend and Kyungsoo just couldn’t stop himself from groaning. He should have just told his roommate what they’d been doing and gotten over with it.

Now stupid Baekhyun was spreading rumors and that was not nice.

But then again, it had been Kai who had said it was true first and Kyungsoo just wanted to scream.  At him, at himself for even bringing up Baekhyun’s stupid book, at Baekhyun for being a little shit, at Chanyeol, at his stupid teammates for grinning at him knowingly and teasingly, at the world.

This was the single most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to him.

And it wasn’t even real.

“So how is he?” Chen was the first one to ask, a grin on his face. “Is he as impressive as he says he is?”

“…What?”

“His dick.”

“What the fuck…” Kyungsoo breathed out. “How am I supposed to know, damn it?”

“Well it was you making out with him, not me!” Chen shrugged. “ I guess you didn’t go all the way…”

Kyungsoo almost banged his head in the door of his locker but Kai stepped inside the locker room with Suho behind him and all the teasing died out. For only a second.

“So,” Luhan grinned at Kai. “Little Soo tamed you, huh?”

“Do his lips feel nice? I mean, they are pretty impressive, I bet they do…”

“Forget about the lips, let’s talk about the ass-“

“Um, you all know I can hear you, right?” Kyungsoo raised his voice and the guys blinked stupidly at him once again, before Tao shrugged.

“So what?”

Kyungsoo was left gaping when Kai grabbed the folder out of Suho’s hand and slammed it against the metal surface of the lockers.

“Alright, it’s none of your business what me and Kyungsoo are doing-“

“HA! So you are doing something!”

“Shut up, Baekhyun!” Kai said but there wasn’t any hate in his voice. Only authority. And Kyungsoo could swear that there was a little smirk playing on his lips and all he could do was squint his eyes in the captain’s direction before he continued talking. “As I said, none of your business! What does concern you, however, is the damn game! We have two days left, so you better get out on the field and start doing the warm-up or I swear to God I will kill you and find myself better players.”

And Kyungsoo leaned on the locker as Kai returned the folder to Suho, who tried to smile at the players encouragingly, before leading them out. And Kyungsoo deliberately stayed behind a little, pretending to put his things in the locker.

He waited until everybody was out and he could only feel one pair of eyes on himself before he turned around and scowled at Kai.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do you prefer Baekhyun finding out?”

“Actually, I do.” Kyungsoo groaned. “But at this point he won’t even believe me anymore.”

Kai laughed heartily, but when Kyungsoo shot him a glare, there was a weak attempt of pretending to cough.

“They’ll stop talking about it by tomorrow.”

“You obviously don’t know Baekhyun well enough,” Kyungsoo replied bitily. “ _I’ll keep you safe, Kyungsoo, everything is going to be alright, I’ll just tell them all we were making out, which is a total lie_!”

Kai laughed again, this time not even trying to pretend he wasn’t.

“Was this supposed to be me?”

“No, my aunt from Switzerland.”

“Look, trust me.” Kai stepped forward, placing a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “They’ll forget about it in a day or two. Let’s just focus on the game now, OK?”

Kyungsoo sighed out and hoped for the best.

* * *

Taemin was sitting across the table with a smirk on his face.

“So…how has life been?”

“What do you mean ‘how has life been’?” Jongin scowled. “We were out yesterday. What do you expect to have changed?”

“Oh I don’t know, probably the fact that you got yourself a boyfriend?” Taemin tilted his head lightly while Jongin choked on his bubble tea. “Or probably a fucktoy? What is it?”

“What the fuck…?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were already dating the cute new player? I wouldn’t have teased you like that….I would have gone all the way!”

Jongin almost felt like he had to throw something at his best friend’s face and the smug expression on it. However, they were in public and he had to stay composed.

“We’re not dating.”

“So you’re only-“

“No!” Jongin shook his head. “It’s all a misunderstanding, see…we were reading something we shouldn’t have been reading and then his roommate was coming back and I kind of…fell on him, that’s all.”

“Yeah sure, that’s what happened. Did it feel nice?”

“Taemin!”

His best friend snickered again while Jongin only frowned even deeper.

“Who told you this shit anyway?”

Jongin didn’t like the other taunting smile that appeared on his best friend’s lips, as he took the straw away and looked up.

“Everybody’s talking about it. I wouldn’t be surprised it if makes tomorrow’s student newspaper or the homepage.” Taemin leaned back. “After all, you are Kim Kai. And nobody misses out on the news about our favorite quarterback.”

By the time the other one stopped talking, Kai was sure that his face had turned ghost white. He almost dropped his cup and only now did he look at the people around on the campus.

It wasn’t unusual that they were looking at him. What was unusual, however, was how they were leaning towards each other, whispering, throwing looks.

“Oh holy fuck,” he muttered. “…I am so damned.”

Taemin only laughed.

* * *

Kai was standing in the middle of the living room in Suho’s house. The latter had been kind enough to lend it to Chen for his birthday party.

It wasn’t something huge, just people from Chen’s classes, the team and some other friends of his. However, it was still a lot of the college’s students sending him glances all the time. Even the all black attire wasn’t helping him blend with the crowd.

Especially when he started making his way to some corner and a little figure stopped him in his tracks without even trying. Kyungsoo’s glare was strong enough.

“You!” the shorter one said and Jongin literally froze. “You said they’d forget!”

“Hey, hey, don’t attack me, you should be talking with Baekhyun I-“

“Oh, I’ve talked with Baekhyun alright,” Kai cringed at the fanatic sound of Kyugnsoo’s voice. He almost pitied Baekhyun for a second if he hadn’t been too busy thinking about his own wellbeing and close future. “But you! You said it first! So you-...you should…ugh…”

Kai straightened in his place when the shorter boy stomped his foot and that was supposed to be an angry gesture but all Kai could think in the moment was how cute the other one looked. How could he be scary and endearing in the same time, Kai couldn’t understand.

“Hey, it’s OK. Just don’t…don’t think about it.”

“How am I supposed not to think about it when about ten people have already asked me about your dick?!” Kyungsoo shrieked and Kai froze for a second, before he started laughing. Not at the fact that people were asking about his dick (although it did make him proud) but at how distressed Kyungsoo looked.

“What did you tell them?”

“That it’s tiny.”

Kai’s smile dropped faster than ever and all he could do was watch a little victorious smirk making its way to Kyungsoo’s plum lips.

“You…you didn’t!”

“Oh yes, I did.”

“Kyungsoo! Being angry at me is one thing but insulting my man pride is just….that’s unfair!”

“Do you know what’s unfair? Having half of the college glare at me all day long!”

Kai opened his mouth but nothing came out of it, as he stared at Kyungsoo’s furrowed brows and slightly puckered lips and his little frame and all he wanted to do was just lunge forward and hug him and tell him that it would be OK, because college was just a place and the students here were just strangers.

But he didn’t, because he didn’t want to make him feel even more uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,” he managed to say in the end and it was his turn to watch Kyugnsoo freeze in his spot and his stone-like expression to quiver a little, to watch the heart shaped lips part and a sigh to come out.

“No.  _I’m_  sorry.” The shorter one stated. “It isn’t only your fault. It’s also mine. But mostly Baekhyun’s.”

And Kai tried to smile a little, as he nodded.

“Yeah. Mostly his.”

* * *

“You do realize that we’re twenty year olds, right?” Suho said and Chanyeol raised his eyebrows. “Truth or Dare? That’s what kids in the fifth grade do.”

“Yeah, but kids in the fifth grade don’t get to experience the fun side of Truth or Dare, hyung.” The giant grinned. “So what is it?”

Kyungsoo watched the assistant of the coach raise his glass to the lips and emptying its content, before nodding.

“Fine then. Truth.”

“Chicken.” Chanyeol said, but smirked nonetheless and Kyungsoo didn’t have a good feeling about it. He’d never had the guts to sit in the circles during truth or dare before, but Chen was the birthday boy and the birthday boy could get especially whiny when something didn’t happen the way he wanted it to be.

So here he was now, trying to hide behind Kris, observing the game, hoping not to get picked.

“If you could fuck one person in the room who would that be?”

Suho groaned but everybody else cheered, as the usually quiet and responsible one started looking around. Kyungsoo made sure to hide behind the other guys even better.

“I..um…Kris.”

“I’m not even surprised,” Chanyeol sighed out with a mischievous smile. Kyungsoo could swear however that Kris’ cheeks turned slightly pink the moment Suho said that. But at all the teasing that followed, he didn’t say a thing.  
”Alright, Kyungsoo! Truth or Dare?”

And it was now his turn to shiver as Suho bore his eyes in him. And Kyungsoo didn’t know how to feel about getting chosen – especially by Suho. Probably grateful.

“Um…truth?”

“Good. Tell s what happened yesterday between you and Kai?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes drifted towards the team captain and he was pretty sure that he looked pathetic, but the taller one nodded at him with a reassuring smile and Kyungsoo nodded.

“It’s all actually a misunderstanding, guys.” He started and got a few snorts, that he decided to ignore. “I was helping Kai out with math and then we decided to take a break for a little while, so we decided that we had to…we wanted to read Baekhyun’s diary, but then there were noises at the door and as we were hurrying to put it back we fell and then those two came in and…yeah.”

“You were touching my stuff?!” Baekhyun shrieked and Kyungsoo prepared to answer, but the other one raised his hand. “Wait, no. I can’t believe this. This is way too convenient, all because you know that I have one.”

“Wait, you actually have a diary?” Xiumin asked and it was Baekhyun’s turn to start making excuses. Kyungsoo, however, sighed.

“I’m telling the truth. It was a misunderstanding. Nothing happened.” He looked around and his eyes stopped on Chen for a second. “Alright, birthday boy. Truth or Dare?”

“I’m not spilling my secrets, so dare.”

“Um…” Kyungsoo furrowed his brows, as he looked around, and he finally shrugged. “Touch your nose with your tongue. If you can’t touch yours, go touch Xiumin’s.”

“WHY MINE?!”

“Because that’s what I want!” Kyungsoo crossed his arms in front of his chest, as all eyes were diverted to Chen, who frowned.

“You really are with the mindset of a kid. Anyway…”

It was a funny sight – the intoxicated football player wiggling his tongue out, trying to reach the tip of his nose. Instinctively, his hands flied up, but Sehun swatted them away, laughing.

“You can’t do it! Just go lick Xiumin already!”

“Well I really won’t dislike it.” Chen said as he got up and Kyungsoo almost laughed at Xiumin’s exquisite expression of confusion and distrust.

Kyungsoo had fun watching Xiumin struggling with Chen who’d already touched the tip of his nose with his tongue, but was now trying to lick his cheek. It was all settled when Chen ended it with a quick peck on Xiumin’s nose, before getting back to his seat, ignoring the murmurs of the eldest football player.

And he also had fun when Chen pointed his finger at Kai and everybody turned towards the captain who’d been pretty quiet ever since the game started.

“I swear if you say ‘truth’ I’ll slap you.” Chen warned. “We already got what we wanted out of Kyungsoo anyway.”

“Stop whining.” Kai rolled his eyes. “I’m too cool to say ‘truth‘ anyway. Dare.”

“Very well, Mr. Too-cool.” Chen grinned. “Go and kiss Kyungsoo. On the lips.”

And that’s when Kyungsoo’s entire little world ended and he was about to protest but the look in Chen’s eyes just said ‘no’. And when he was sure that Kyungsoo wouldn’t speak up (or more like couldn’t because suddenly he lost all ability to think), he turned back to Kai who was standing up, ignoring the wolf whistles of the guys.

“You better make this shit French, Kai…”

Kyungsoo’s breath hitched when Kai ducked in front of him, his face in front of his. A small smile on his lips.

“Do you mind, shrimpy?” he asked and his hot breath fanned across Kyungsoo’s cheek and the older one just sighed out and Kai must have taken that as a ‘no’, because a palm found its way to Kyungsoo’s cheek and pulled his face closer.

And Kyungsoo just couldn’t think straightly. He couldn’t process anything, because he was so close to Kai and he was going to get kissed by him and his heart was threatening to erupt out of his chest.

He felt pressure on his lips when Kai leaned down and finally kissed him. When his own plump lips collided with his and he could feel how soft and hot they were. And to Kyungsoo it felt like he was in heaven because that’s what he’d wanted to do for so long and now…now it was happening and he didn’t know how to feel about it.

Kai pulled back for a second and Kyungsoo opened his eyes to see two brown chocolate eyes staring at him and he just couldn’t form words. He couldn’t even think properly with the other man’s face so close to his.

And he definitely didn’t expect Kai leaning down again to capture his lips one more time. But this time he didn’t only press them against his. He trapped Kyungsoo’s lower lip between his and the older one almost moaned when the younger sucked on it for a mere second, causing him to open his mouth and to grant him better access.

Kyungsoo couldn’t even breathe when Kai  _actually_  kissed him. When the younger one leaned over him more, hand moving behind his neck to hold him. Kyungsoo couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t hear anything.

All he sensed in the moment was the salty taste of Kai’s lips, the trace of alcohol lingering on his tongue, even after Kai retreated for a second before kissing him yet again.

And Kyungsoo’s hand instinctively flew up and he buried his fingers in Kai’s hair, pulling him closer as he finally responded to the kiss, lips clashing, tongues exploring each other.

And then, as fast as it had started, it ended and there was a trace of sorrow in his chest when Kai pulled back but didn’t lean down again. However, there was a smile on his lips and Kyungsoo still couldn’t say anything.

Not when Kai stood up and returned to his spot under the cheers of the guys, not giving a damn about the comments. Kyungsoo couldn’t hear what the guys were saying, because Chen’s voice was booming above the others’.

“I asked for a kiss, but I got some foreplay shit.” the shorter one was cheering loudly. “WELL IT ISN’T A MISUNDERSTANDING ANYMORE, IS IT?!”

But Kyungsoo didn’t really care, because the taste of alcohol and Kim Kai was still on his lips and tongue and that, he enjoyed quite a lot.

 

 

 

twitter, curiouscat, ko-fi: jongnugget

 


	7. -6-

06

Kai looked Baekhyun up and down when he emerged in the locker room, nodding approvingly when he saw no damage.

“Good, you’re alive.”

“Why? Shouldn’t I be?” Baekhyun winced, throwing his stuff in front of the locker, earning himself a few sympathetic glances.

“Well, it’s you with the diary…” Kai arched his brows. “And where is he?”

“I don’t know. Probably trying to bury himself alive or something. But he’ll be here on time, don’t worry.”

“He better, cause I’d whoop his ass if we lose ‘cause he didn’t bother showing up or something.”

“Oh, the things you’d do with his ass…”

Kai didn’t even hesitate before reaching out to smack Baekhyun’s head and the other one only insolently laughed in return.

But Kai didn’t have time for the older one’s shit. They had less than one hour till the game started and Kyungsoo, Luhan and Sehun still weren’t there. And for the captain, this game was no joke – he was the leader of that team, he had been pushing these guys forward all this time, he’d worked out with them, trained, all with the goal of winning this.

And if they lost because not everybody was there, he’d probably kill the ones responsible with his own, bare hands.

“So should I hide when Kyungsoo comes or what?” Chen questioned from the other side of the locker room with a sly grin and Kai’s lips actually twisted in a little smile when he directed his gaze to Baekhyun. “I mean, I’d feel kind of bad that I made him make out with a man if he doesn’t swing that way.”

The shorter male was attaching the protectors to his shoulders, as he looked up and scoffed loudly.

“Hide? Better stay. He’ll probably bring you cookies or something.”

“Cookies?”

“Yeah, cause, you know…gratitude?”

Kai’s brows furrowed in the exact same moment Chen burst out laughing together with Chanyeol and Tao. He turned towards Baekhyun with arms crossed over the straps of his shoulder pads and the latter immediately stopped smiling and shook his head, feigning seriousness.

“Life’s been hard on the poor boy. He hasn’t made out with anybody in years. So he must have been really happy when he finally got to kiss a living creature and, you know, not an apple or something…” Baekhyun said and Kai’s brows furrowed even more.

Right, Kyungsoo’s kiss last night had hinted that he wasn’t really experienced, but it wasn’t bad. In fact, Kai enjoyed it quite a lot. The feeling of those alluring plump lips against his had been pretty damn nice and he sure as hell wouldn’t mind doing it again.

But for the nth time in less than 24 hours Jongin had to remind himself that he’d only gotten the chance to kiss Kyungsoo because Chen was an idiot (that he loved) and that Kyungsoo hadn’t really done it out of his own will. That it had been a game.

Besides, they had a match now. CUBE had been pretty damn good last year and Kai was cringing at the fact that they were their first opponents in the college league. He didn’t like that at all and he had to keep his head in the game and not Kyungsoo.

That’s why he banged his hand against the surface of the closest locker and stopped all the laughter and the giggles in the room.

“Anyway. Hurry up, the game’s starting soon!”

* * *

 _“Where the fuck were you?!”_ Baekhyun hissed as soon as Kyungsoo stepped into the locker room, panting because he’d been running to get there on time.

“I-“

“Whatever, I don’t care. Fucking put on the damn uniform, Kai’s like a lady in her fifties going through her menopause because of you!”

Kyungsoo interpreted that as ‘moody’ as he nodded quickly, eyeing the empty locker room.

“Where’s everybody?”

“Already out.” Baekhyun scoffed and Kyungsoo nodded. He didn’t waste anymore time – Baekhyun was sharing a room with him and he was an insolent little shit, meaning he didn’t bother knocking on the bathroom door even when Kyungsoo was inside. So changing in his jersey wasn’t a problem.

In fact, the older one trotted forward and started helping him out with the straps, muttering not so discreetly under his breath. Kyungsoo used up these few seconds to catch his breath and close his eyes for a while.

He was glad that his roommate wasn’t interrogating him. After all, there was no proper explanation for why he was so late – and there was no way in hell he was going to admit that he just wanted to avoid the team captain at all costs.

Instead, he hurried up with the shin and knee protectors and hurriedly put on the brand new jersey and he had to admit, that it did indeed feel better and more comfortable than their old uniforms.

And when he turned around he thought for a second that Baekhyun would punch him.

However, the older one dragged his finger in a line below Kyungsoo’s eyes and there was a cold sensation on his skin for a moment. Baekhyun was smearing black paint on his face and it was confirmed when the latter used a towel to get rid of the remains on his fingers and looked at him darkly.

“Come on, take your helmet and let’s go….I can’t believe it, even Sehun came before you!”

“Well, that’s sad for Sehun, isn’t it? But you’re disgracing me.”

Baekhyun blinked in front of him blankly two times, before his expression changed and he bumped into Kyungsoo’s shoulder rather hard, shoving his helmet in his hands.

“You horny motherfucker, I swear to God, I am not bringing you to a party ever again in my life!” Baekhyun hooked an arm under his elbow with a distressed expression and a hardly concealed smile and started dragging him towards the field – a thing Kyungsoo didn’t particularly enjoy because if he went out there he’d have to meet Kai and meeting Kai would mean having an awkward situation. Which he didn’t want…

But he had to go because he was a part of the team and he had a game to win. And on the way out, he just couldn’t stop smirking lightly at Baekhyun’s muttering.

“…I can’t believe it, thinking about Sehun’s dick before a game, _what’s wrong with me?”_

* * *

Every ounce of willpower Kai had he used not to walk forward and shake Kyungsoo violently. Instead, he looked at him darkly and the center froze in his place for a second, before hurrying up after Baekhyun to the circle they’d formed.

But at least Kai exhaled now. They were all there, the whole team. And that made him feel somehow at ease. So as soon as those two joined them, Kai’s eyes glided over each player’s face.

“Listen, now!” he had to raise his tone because the stands were full, people from their college and from CUBE were chanting, cheering, even cursing. 

It was always like this, almost deafening. “We’ve been training a lot, and if we play like we play during practice, then we’ll win, right?!”

“YEAH!”

“WILL WE WIN?!” Kai almost shouted and he knew most of the time how useless this was, but if it was getting the guys pumped up, then it was alright. He watched them roar, black paint on their cheeks, wide and confident grins as they agreed with him again and he raised his helmet a little. “THEN LET’S DO THIS!”

Kai felt a pat on his shoulder as Suho gave them a cheerful smile and a quick ‘Good luck!’ before they started running towards the field.

As the captain he was probably supposed to run at the front like he usually did. But this time he watched as his teammates started running one after another, until Kyungsoo was left. And just as he was about to set off for the field after taking a visibly deep breath, Kai stood in front of him, with a set jaw line and a leader-ish expression.

“Hey, listen…about last night, we-“  
”This isn’t exactly the time to talk about it, is it?” Kyungsoo immediately looked away from him and Kai felt the urge to catch his chin with his fingers and turn his head back towards him. But he didn’t. He had a priority now and that was the game.

“It is. Don’t think I am stupid. I know you were late because you didn’t want to see me.” There was a moment of silence in which Kyungsoo blinked once and Kai just continued studying his blank expression. “We have a game to play now, so forget about it, OK?”

The nod from the shorter one was slow and hesitant and Jongin almost felt like groaning, because this wasn’t the time for slow and hesitant. He wanted to hear those same enthusiastic shouts from Kyungsoo, too. He wanted to be sure that his center would give his all for this game. He needed to know that he could rely on him, because the quarterback’s efficiency for the game depended on the center.

“I want a good game, Kyungsoo. Look at their players,” he jugged his chin at the guys who were standing in front of his own team on the field and he made sure Kyungsoo was looking before he continued. “The beasts of CUBE, that’s what they’re called. And if you haven’t noticed, they are probably twice bigger than you in size.”

“Encouraging…” Kai almost smirked when the word rolled out of Kyungsoo’s mouth in a raspy voice.

“I’m not saying this to make you feel bad. It’s the truth.” The captain shrugged, looking back towards the center. Kyungsoo was already looking at him. “But I didn’t pick the short boy with pretty features because I liked the view. I picked the little one because he has skills. So you better go out there shrimpy and do your job properly and after that, feel free to ignore me as much as you want. I’ll find a way to deal with it later. But now, I want you to stay focused. Am I clear?”

Kai continued staring even though the announcer was already speaking. He wouldn’t let Kyungsoo move before he got a real answer. And the older one seemed beyond dazed, as he kept on staring at nothing in particular, gaze fixed somewhere between Jongin’s chest and face.

And he was about to ask him once again whether he understood, when Kyungsoo looked up and bore his eyes in his, expression as blank as ever.

“If you call me ‘short’ or ‘little’ ever again, I’ll kick your ass.”

Kai grinned. There he was, the guy he’d been waiting for.

* * *

Kyungsoo was slightly shaking when he stood up in the front line, hearing the shouts of Kai, but not really listening.

It was different this time. This wasn’t practice – the field was full, the lights were illuminating the whole place, the stands were full, the people were screaming, cheering. And all Kyungsoo could feel was nervousness filling him. He barely had the time to force out a faint smile at Chen who patted his back reassuringly just before Kai screamed again for them to get in formation.

Kyungsoo wasn’t really one to feel intimidated, but these guys in front of them seemed scary. Or it was probably just his nervousness playing tricks on him. But he looked back towards his team for a mere second – the guys were taking their positions.

And when once again he looked towards their opponents, a big guy, the other team’s center, gave him a smirk that was visible even under the helmet. And Kyungsoo saw the taunting in that look and it made him freeze in his spot for a moment.

It’s okay, he had to repeat to himself mentally, it’s okay.

He was going to play like he did during their practice, right? Just like Kai told him to.

Kyungsoo shut his eyes closed for a moment – Kai. Damn it. He’d reminded him of last night, and he had basically told him that he knew why Kyungsoo hadn’t been there earlier. Or in other words, Kai had seen right through him and Kyungsoo probably now seemed pathetic in his eyes. Which wasn’t really a good thing. Not at all.

Filled with such thoughts Kyungsoo almost missed the signal for the start of the game.

But that one second of distraction was enough for the outcome – the big guy with the center position had already jumped forward when Kyungsoo attempted to push him away resulting in the smaller one being tackled to the ground rather harshly, a pained groan escaping his lips. Except for the pounding in his ears, Kyungsoo could hear more screams and more screams, as the other one got off him and he attempted to stand up. But as soon as he was on his feet, somebody griped the front of his jersey and shook him in his place.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Kyungsoo slowly registered Kai’s angry expression beneath the helmet, beautiful features pulled back in a frustrated grimace. It wasn’t an expression Kyungsoo liked seeing on Kai’s face. “Didn’t I tell you something?!”

“I’m-“

The signal for a change in the score cut him off and both him and Kai looked up to the board – Kyungsoo’s heart clenched. His mistake had allowed the other team’s receivers to run off with the ball. His mistake had given these other boys the chance to score a touchdown. His mistake was the reason for the lead of the Guests. It was his fault and he knew it.

So did Kai, because he shook him in his place again, as the field was filled with disappointed groans. The players from their team were arguing, Kyungsoo caught that, too. But his mind was too preoccupied with Kai in front of him, whose eyes were shooting daggers at him.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” the captain repeated and Kyungsoo closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry…”

“You better be!” Kai pushed him backwards and the older one’s chest felt heavy all of a sudden. It hurt. He didn’t want Kai to look at him like that. “Get your fucking shit together, Kyungsoo!”

He didn’t say anything else – he just ran off to the other guys from the defense line, probably giving them new instructions.

The center sighed out shakily, not looking up. He didn’t want to see disappointed glances or taunting grins from the other team. He didn’t want to look up and see the accusation in their eyes.

“Hey, it’s OK.” Baekhyun appeared next to him, but even in his voice Kyungsoo caught uncertainty. His roommate was panting – him, Luhan, Chen and Xiumin must have tried retrieving the ball. They must have tried stealing it from the other team, but with the disadvantage of time loss, it hadn’t been successful. Kyugnsoo sighed again. “Come on, Kyungsoo. Let’s do it properly this time.” Baekhyun laughed cheerfully. “We had to give them an advantage, after all.”

“…Idiot. Can’t you see that it’s my fau-”

“Hey, just think about it this way! It’s easier.” His best friend shrugged, tapping his helmet, as he set off for his own position. “Besides, we didn’t train that much for you to just give up. Come on!”

And Kyungsoo only followed him, he saw a nod from Chanyeol, who was getting ready on the front line. Tao and Sehun gave him the stinky eye but Kyungsoo hadn’t expected less from the bratty duo. Instead, he ran back to his position and eyed the guy from a little while ago again. He was once again looking down at him and this time, Kyungsoo wouldn’t tolerate it.

A look back towards the team captain, who gave him a harsh, cold, strict look and Kyungsoo nodded. He understood.

So when the signal for the game was heard, Kyungsoo hurried to pass the ball behind, digging his toes into the ground, before setting forward. Shoulder first, shoving the guy back, Kyungsoo let a growl escape his mouth at the collision.

Another push from his whole body and that center was on the ground and Kyungsoo had to simply suppress the urge to punch him for his earlier snobby smirks. Instead, he looked down emotionlessly to see the tall one’s eyes widening. He wasn’t worth acknowledging.

This had been easy – way too easy and Kyungsoo didn’t like it. It made him feel even worse for letting that happen on the first round.

There was another signal from the board. Kyungsoo heard the chants of the cheerleaders and the enthusiastic screams coming from the crowd, before he looked towards the in-zone.

Kai was holding the ball up in the air.

The score on the board was even.

They’d scored.

* * *

Kai was smiling.

He could hear the cheers from outside. He could hear all the students from their college enthusiastically screaming, probably about to scatter in different frat houses and dorms for different parties. After all, everybody had to celebrate the football team’s first victory in the league.

But his players were still in the locker rooms. After all, nobody wanted to attend a party all covered in sweat and dirt.

All of them were laughing, celebrating the victory in their own way – making out against the lockers (Baekhyun and Chanyeol), slapping the other members with towels (Chen) or just smiling brightly and congratulating the others (okay, only Suho was sane enough). All of them with the exception of one.

Kai’s smile faltered when his eyes focused on Kyungsoo sitting in the edge of the bench, fingers playing with the clothes in his hands.

He didn’t really know what to think – he also didn’t want to. Instead, he started stepping forward towards him and without even asking, he seated himself next to him, causing the older one to spare him a glance.

“Why are you sulking?”

“As if you don’t know…”

“Stop being a baby.” Kai scoffed. “I told you not to think about anything except for the game, but you obviously didn’t do that. You did well after that, but I’m still not going to tolerate it.”

“I know.”

“That’s good.” Kai’s look softened a little at the sight of Kyungsoo’s slumped, damp shoulders. He almost sighed out when he felt a little guilt creeping in him. “But you did more than well after that. It was a good game, Kyungsoo.”

He liked the way the shorter one looked up with widened eyes and a confused look in them. Almost grateful actually. Kai could only smile awkwardly, before lifting a finger.

“But still, I won’t forget the first one! You’ll be staying after practice the next two weeks!”

“I can’t…I have exams coming up.”

“And I have a team to lead.” Kai’s eyebrows arched as he waited for Kyungsoo to say something. But he didn’t. In the end, the captain nodded and stood up. “Wait after the guys leave. We need to talk about last night.”

“I don’t want to talk about last night.”

“Too bad,” Kai smirked down at him. “I want to. And you owe me.”

Kyungsoo’s thunderstruck expression was something that made him smile as he retreated. 

* * *

Kyungsoo was procrastinating in order to find a proper excuse for staying behind. He was still slowly folding his clothes, pretending to pack his stuff, as the guys escaped one after the other, headed for the various parties.

And he particularly disliked the face Baekhyun made when Kyungsoo told him to leave before him. He also disliked the fact that the older one’s eyes flicked towards Kai, who was still standing in the corner of the locker room, only in his jeans.

And he hated it when Baekhyun smirked at him.

“Well, _have fun_.” The other one announced with a naughty wink and before Kyungsoo’s punch could meet with his abdomen, Baekhyun had escaped the locker room after Chanyeol.

And suddenly, it was hard to breathe again. Because it was only him and the team captain in the room and Kyungsoo knew that the upcoming conversation would be awkward and embarrassing. Or hurtful.

In any case, Kyungsoo didn’t want it to ever happen, but Kai was already boldly stepping towards the door, making sure everybody was out of the hallways. Kyungsoo followed him with his eyes dancing along the frame of his bare back and shoulders. He only looked up when he heard the click of the door closing and felt the pair of chocolate brown eyes bored in his.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Kyungsoo started quietly, looking away to only hear a chuckle in response.

“Oh, there’s plenty to talk about.”

“There’s plenty to talk about, but it would be weird, so let’s just drop it.” Kyugnsoo shrugged. “You told me to forget about it, so let’s just do exactly that, OK?”

“Mmm…” he heard a humming and looked up to see Jongin approaching him with arms crossed in front of his naked chest. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t…think so.” Kyungsoo’s brows arched when Jongin stood in front of him.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. I told you to forget about it during the game. But since the game’s over now, I want you to talk about it with me.”

“There’s really nothing to talk about.” Kyungsoo said again, trying to ignore the lump that was starting to form in his throat. “It was only a game. Let’s just forget about it.”

“Oh, so it was only a game?”

Kyungsoo could swear that Kai’s eyes were burning a hole in his head. The brunette was looking at him intently. He didn’t trust himself to look up, because if he did he’d get weak on his knees again. There was something incredibly alluring in Kai with damp hair and no shirt on.

“Yes,” he hated himself for not being able to speak properly and for only whispering. But he knew that if he tried speaking louder he’d make a fool out of himself. His voice would end up cracking because of how fast his heart was beating or something. It was awful enough as it was now. “Only a game.”

“If it was only a game, then why did you kiss me?”

“What?!” Kyungsoo finally looked up and there was a smirk on Kai’s plush lips. But it was nothing like the taunting smirk of the guy from the field – this smirk was a knowing smirk, not a mean one. Okay, probably a little, but in an entirely different way. “You’re the one who kissed me!”

“But if I remember correctly, you kissed me back.” Kai’s smirk grew wider and started resembling a smile. Kyungsoo snorted out.

“You’re being delusional.” He announced, once again not looking the other in the eyes. “Or you were intoxicated. In any case, you’re imagining things.”

Kyungsoo turned around and with shaky hands and a pounding heart reached out for his sack, ready to shove his things inside and leave. However, Kai stopped him just when he was about to pick it up by leaning above his shoulder and making Kyungsoo freeze in his spot as he felt the hot breath on his neck and the body behind his.

“So you’re saying that it was only a game.” The younger one whispered and his voice sent shivers down Kyungsoo’s spine.

“Y-Yeah…”

“So if I were to kiss you now, you wouldn’t kiss me back?”

Kyungsoo’s breath hitched when Kai muttered the words in his ear.

Sensations washed over him at the thought of kissing Kai again. He closed his eyes for a mere second and remembered the feeling from last night. If Kai kissed him again, he’d probably lose his mind.

However, he had to shake his head lightly, before he turned around and pushed Kai away from himself lightly.

“If you kiss me again, I’ll probably punch you.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Kai said with a grin as he caught Kyungsoo’s wrists mid air and pushed him back against the locker.

Kyungsoo’s heart skipped a beat when the captain’s face appeared only a few inches away from his. He stared and Kai stared back. He tried to breathe, but it was somehow hard with that glorious being so close to him, so close (and half naked)…

“Get off me,” he said but it sounded breathy and Kai only got closer, his legs touching Kyungsoo’s, a sly smirk on his lips.

“Not before you tell the truth, shrimpy.” Kai breathed out, face inching closer and closer. “Did you or did you not kiss me back because you enjoyed it?”

Kyungsoo stared at him for a few more second, probably a minute, or an hour, it didn’t matter. Whenever his eyes met Kai’s it felt like he was falling through an eternity of possibilities. This time wasn’t any different.

However the question of the younger one was still lingering in his mind and he couldn’t just blurt out an answer.

Instead, he turned his head to the side and exhaled, trying to get his wrists out of Kai’s hands. However, sensing that he was trying to get away, Kai only tightened his grip on them and Kyungsoo felt his hot breath on the skin of his neck once again.

“Kyungsoo…” The older one stilled down and slowly turned his head towards Kai, whose eyes hadn’t moved away from his face. He looked back up to the chocolate eyes, knowing too well that he’d lose himself in them once again. But for once, he didn’t care. “Do you mind?”

“I…” he contemplated it for a second, gaze falling down on the slightly parted plush lips, only centimeters away from his own lips, feeling the hot breath on his skin. Only remembering could be a torture. And Kyungsoo was weak. “No. No, I don’t.”

Kai’s grip on his wrists weakened, as he placed the center’s hands on his shoulders, cupping his face with a breathtaking smile on those glorious lips.

“Good.”

Kyungsoo almost squealed when Kim Kai’s lips attacked his.

He’d read about this, he’d also seen it in movies – making out in the empty locker room. In books and movies it wasn’t romantic. How could a kiss in the locker room, where it smelled like sweat and cheap deodorants, be romantic? It was usually a full make out session, all licking, groping and exploring.

And maybe he was the one being delusional, because everything about it seemed perfect. The way the football captain skillfully and surely moved his lips against his hesitant and inexperienced ones, the way he held his face in his big palms, the way he pressed his body against his – it was all perfect, making Kyungsoo feel dizzy.

And he only felt even dizzier when he felt Kai’s tongue tracing his lower lip. When Kyungsoo opened his mouth to breathe out, the latter used the opportunity to lock their lips together, to give Kyungsoo the chance to taste him. And it was intoxicating – without the trace of the alcohol Kai’s kiss was even better.

There was a tingling feeling in Kyungsoo’s chest when Kai released him for a second and then latched his lips just below his jaw line. He would have probably collapsed if Kai’s body wasn’t so close to his, holding him up. Instead, Kyungsoo’s hands slid down the captain’s bare chest, feeling the hardness of his muscles, the smoothness of his skin.

He felt pressure where Kai’s lips were sucking on his skin and it felt so good. And when an involuntary moan escaped his mouth, Kyungsoo felt ashamed.

But when he finally opened his eyes and saw a very soft looking nape in front of himself, as Kai kept on assaulting his neck, Kyungsoo realized that they were indeed in a stinky locker room and that indeed wasn’t very romantic and that yes, he was delusional.

So he used the fact that his palms were on Kai’s chest to push the younger one away.

The captain didn’t resist. Instead, he stepped back and brought a hand up to wipe his lower lip with his thumb – a sight that was a little too damn distracting for Kyungsoo, who was still trying to catch his breath.

“Sorry,” the captain barely whispered but in the empty locker room it echoed in the walls. “I got caught up in the moment…”

And Kyungsoo only slumped back against the locker, his eyes slightly hooded as he kept on staring at Kai. The younger one wasn’t looking away either. Instead, the corners of his lips tugged upwards in a smile.

“So...next time I try this will you punch me?”

* * *

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	8. -7-

07

Kyungsoo felt nervous.

Walking down the hallways of the buildings, in the campus of the college, around the cafeteria and even on the way to the field, people were staring at him. Some of them were still muttering about the rumors about him and Kai, but the majority of the comments this time were about the last game. They were talking about the center’s skills and it felt overwhelming, but Kyungsoo didn’t dislike it.

And now he was on the way to the tables behind the main building, walking confidently with a rueful smile on his lips. He was thinking about the fact that after the tiring lectures he’d finally sit down with the guys, stuff himself with pizza probably, and then get back in the dorms and bury himself in books until it was time for practice.

And everything was going as planned, when he reached the table and when the guys started greeting him, when they moved to the side and emptied some space on the benches for him.

The only thing that felt weird was Kai’s gaze on him.

Kyungsoo looked away from the team captain, who was munching on fries. And the older one felt really bad for being awkward – it wasn’t his fault. In fact, it was Kai’s! He was the one who had started everything!

And Kyungsoo was actually getting worked up as the conversations of the guys kept on going on and on and he could still feel Kai’s eyes burning holes in his temple.

He almost choked on his slice of pizza at one point, the tension growing. He put it back on the plate and cleared his throat, glaring at Kai, their eyes meeting for a second. And he was smirking. A smirk, that he felt the sudden urge to punch off the handsome face.

“Can you two please stop being so obvious?” Baekhyun banged his hand on the table at some point and everybody looked towards him. And even though Kyungsoo was looking at him threateningly, the other one proceeded. “The sexual tension is getting too much.”

“What sexual tension?” Kai smirked, shoving another fry in his mouth. “I’m just jealous…I wanted pizza, too.”

Kyungsoo squinted his eyes against the captain and almost shook his head. He was unbelievable.

The guys didn’t know about the escapades in the locker rooms. Not even Baekhyun, Kyungsoo had somehow managed to withstand his attacks. And he could definitely say that his acting skills were becoming better, since the latter had bought his lies about Kai scolding him about the first ball.

So he couldn’t let them find out now. He picked up his pizza and stuffed his mouth with a rather generous bite, before shaking his head, feigning compassion.

“Bad luck.”

He was lazily chewing, gaze fixed on Kai, whose eyes became a little darker. But before he could start making thousands of assumptions, he felt a slap on his shoulder by Lay. When he looked towards him, he seemed shocked.

“You’re being rude, Kyungsoo! Why don’t you give him from it?!”

“What? No, what the fuck…My pizza’s delicious.” Kyungsoo shook his head, biting at the pizza again.

“Just give him some!”

The shorter one almost choked on his food, while a few of the guys on the table started laughing. Kai was smirking.

“Yeah, Kyungsoo, let me get some…”

The laughter only intensified, accompanied by wolf whistles and excited comments by Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Lay was looking around in confusion, not understanding the whole commotion, before Chen leaned in to fill him in.

And Kyungsoo only started feeling awkward and nervous again, as he stared at Kai and he was still looking at him.

“Too bad. You’re getting nothing!” Kyungsoo managed to finally say after a little while, butting in the rest of his pizza in his mouth, ignoring the comments of the guys. He knew they meant no harm with their jokes, so he didn’t really mind. However, Kai’s eyes seemed darker and that’s the thing that intrigued him.

“Pity.’ Was all the captain muttered, a certain hardness in his soft tone that left Kyungsoo shivering. And once again the guys were looking at them and it was Chen, who laughed out first.

“You all should be thanking me for this.”

* * *

Kyungsoo was panting when they finished up with the practice and when Kai announced that they were done for the day, he sighed out in relief, taking off the helmet. He grabbed his water and listened to Baekhyun, explaining about that new anime he had found. He was preparing to follow after the guys, but somebody yanked him back.

“Where are you going?” Kyungsoo looked up to Kai, who had a serious expression on his sweaty face.

“Uh…to change? Shower?”

“I think I told you you’d stay after training for two weeks.”

Kyungsoo’s mouth dropped open as he stared at the team captain. Baekhyun from beside him was staring, too.

“You’re joking, right?” Kyungsoo deadpanned. Kai’s expression didn’t change.

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Kyungsoo stared at the captain for a few more seconds, before his hands dropped down in defeat. Kai’s expression wasn’t changing, so he assumed that yes, he really had been serious back then. Baekhyun, however, still seemed taken aback.

“What the fuck, Kai? Seriously…” he rasped out. “If you seriously want to stay alone with him just say so, man? No need to torture him with additional practice.  I can always go to Channie’s room and leave ours for you two or-… _HEY!”_

Kyungsoo hadn’t seen his own hand flying up to punch  Baekhyun, who was now sporting a grin. Kai’s face, however, still was as stoic as ever.

“Stop messing around, Baekhyun, unless you want to join him. He messed up at the game, but so did you…as far as I remember you didn’t retrieve the ball?”

Kyungsoo watched as Baekhyun frowned a little, stepping back and bidding a goodbye, before following after the others in the changing rooms. Then he turned back again and Kai was smiling.

Kyungsoo felt the sudden urge to punch him, too.

“So…three laps around the field for a start. Go. I’ll be waiting here.”

* * *

When Kai returned from the changing room, Kyungsoo was still at the dummies, doing as he was told. And when after those two hours of additional training Kai moved forward, Kyungsoo glared at him, soft pants escaping his plump lips.

“I think that’s enough for today…”

As if waiting to hear those words, Kyungsoo collapsed on the grass and started breathing heavily, making Kai feel bad for making him do that. Then the smaller guy looked at him with half lidded eyes, still panting and it was a very damn good sight….except for the fact that he was in football attire and with smudged dirt on his hands and face.

“…Fuck you.”

Kai laughed out loud and helped Kyungsoo up.

“Go shower shrimpy, and get changed. I’ll take care of these.”

Kai watched as Kyungsoo walked away, limping as if his legs hurt. Kai’s smile turned into a sorrow grimace. Instead of watching the barely moving figure retreat, he turned around and with an exasperated sigh he started pushing the dummies away.

It wasn’t hard to finish up with that, but he didn’t plan on leaving Kyungsoo alone. So instead, he took a seat at the first row of the stands and just waited.

This wasn’t a good approach, but for the moment, Jongin wasn’t doing this for himself. He was doing it for the team. And Kyungsoo had to learn that keeping your head in the game was far more important than anything else, especially DURING THE DAMN GAME!

Jongin sighed out. It was partially his fault, he shouldn’t have brought that up back then, but he didn’t really regret it. If he hadn’t then nothing would have happened and he still wouldn’t have known what he felt. Or what he was starting to feel. Whatever.

He was waiting, without a single worry as the voices of the students slowly faded in the distance, as it became a later night and as Kyungsoo finally got out of the locker rooms.

Jongin could see the damp locks from here, he could see the black hoodie and jeans from this far. He could see the bag thrown over the shorter’s shoulder and the way he was moving forward slowly, almost dragging his feet.

He once again grimaced, standing up to jog over to Kyungsoo.

“Hey, you took quite some time.”

“I can’t feel my legs, you idiot.” The center snapped at him and Kai bit on the inside of his cheek.

“I went all out, sorry…” he said quietly after they set off on the way to the dorms. Then he laughed quietly “It’s revenge. For not giving me pizza today.”

“That’s it. I will slap Lay when I see him tomorrow.”

“You seriously should have given me some.”

“Not before the third date.”

Jongin smirked lightly, because Kyungsoo’s tone was dismissive and taunting, but it was the perfect opportunity for him. So he bumped his shoulder against Kyungsoo’s (really lightly; he didn’t want to hurt him when he was already tired).

“So I can take you out on a date and we’ll settle this.”

Jongin’s breath hitched a little when Kyungsoo’s head snapped in his direction, thick brows furrowed in confusion, mouth slightly agape. That expression of disbelief and distrust on these delicate features, Jongin liked it.  

“Are you serious right now?”

“Absolutely. Do you want to go out with me?”

“You are unbelievable…I can’t fucking feel my limbs because of you and you have the insolence to ask me out on a date. You’re not really on my good side right now.”

“How about this,” Jongin interrupted the angry rant of the shorter one, smiling warmly. “Let’s go get ice cream again now. My treat, consider it an apology.”

Jongin looked at the shorter one, who stared at him for a  few seconds. He was pretty aware of the fact that the center wasn’t an idiot, that he knew fully well what Jongin had implied. An indirect date, somehow. And he knew that if he were really angry, he’d decline again.

But when the damp locks fell over his eyes as he nodded curtly, Jongin couldn’t help but grin gleefully.

“Perfect.”

* * *

Kyungsoo was barely moving at this point, so it was good that Jongin told him to take a seat. When he finally sat down on the chair, he almost moaned, feeling relief in the tensed muscles of his legs.

And he then looked up, watching Kai’s back as the captain was moving towards the counter. He sighed out, he didn’t know why he’d agreed to come here, when he’d known that it would probably be a mistake in the end. Another heavy sigh.

His heart, however, was pounding happily. He knew that he shouldn’t have been this excited, but he was. Kim Kai was showing interest and it made Kyungsoo feel somehow special. It made him feel nice.

So when the taller one turned around and approached the table, Kyungsoo composed himself and looked at the captain.

“Mint and chocolate for me,” Kai announced. “And Cotton Candy for you. I got it right, didn’t I?”

Kyungsoo had to suppress a smile, as he reached forward to take the cone from Kai’s hand. He was touched – he couldn’t believe that the captain would remember such a thing. But once again, it made him feel nice. He nodded.

“Thanks.”

And then it was quiet again, as both of them looked down toward their own cones, each of them eating their own ice cream quietly.

It was quiet. The ice cream parlor was mostly empty.

And Kyungsoo liked it better like this. When there weren’t many people around. It felt good, but also kind of awkward with both of them just doing their own things, sitting on the same table.

At some point he looked up to catch Kai staring at him.

“You don’t plan on being a dick again, right?” he asked and there was something soft in Kai’s expression when he smiled.

“I don’t know. I like it when it’s the two of us only.”

Kyungsoo bit down on the ice cream and almost cursed when the coldness hit his brain. He looked at Kai instead, seeing nothing but honesty on his face. And he knew for a fact that the younger one sucked with acting. He assumed he was being serene.

“Well, ther eobviously are other ways to be together, so you don’t have to make my legs suffer…”

“Your legs are quite impressive though…”

“Stop!” Kyungsoo almost hissed and pulled back. “Stop saying stuff like that. It’s awkward. Can’t you just apologize and get over with it?”

He watched as Kai tilted his head, pretending to be in deep thought, before shaking his head.

“First of all, I am not telling lies. Second, I really think you still owe me. You fucked up at the game. And third, I am still angry about the pizza thing.”

“God damn it, I will buy you a pizza tomorrow, just shut the fuck up.”

“Or you can give me some Candy Cotton right now and we forget about the pizza.”

Kyungsoo almost choked again when he looked at the serious look in Kai’s eyes.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do – probably shove a spoonful in Kai’s throat and try to kill him while he was at it. Or ignore him. He was still thinking about it, when the younger one chuckled.

“I’m messing around, don’t mind me.” He said, standing up. “Do you want to go? We’ll eat on the way and I’m quite late now. I have to finish an assignment and all…”

“Yeah, uh…sure, let’s go.” Kyungsoo muttered out and reached out to take his bag but Kai was faster. He grabbed the strap and threw it over his shoulder, licking the mint chocolate ice cream calmly.

“Let’s go then.”

Kyungsoo appreciated the fact that Kai wasn’t rushing him, because his legs still felt like shit and probably the following day he’d be cursing at anything that touched him, but for now he didn’t want to think about that. Instead, he kept on walking close to the taller guy, the sweetness of his own ice cream cone covering his taste buds. It was delicious and refreshing after the long practice, but it wasn’t the same thing as a pillow.

Kyungsoo kind of couldn’t wait to get back to the dorms and just sleep.

“So when is your final?” he asked quietly, when they were almost next to the dorms.

“The maths one? In a week or something.”

“Do you still need help with that or…?”

“Well,” Kai lowered the ice cream, before shrugging. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’d appreciate it if you could…um…help me again.”

“Sure, but you stop with the sexual innuendos and with the shit about additional training.” Kyungsoo froze in his spot, staring at Kai. “I know I made a mistake at the game, but….it was also your fault!”

Kai stared back at him, probably amazed by the fact that he was speaking up. But Kyungsoo didn’t like the smirk that rose on his plump lips.

“What sexual innuendos?” the younger one asked and Kyungsoo felt himself flinching, barely keeping his hands in place. Instead, he thought for a second.

He challenged himself internally; made sure he was sure of what he was doing. Then he raised the hand with the ice cone a little and jugged his chin at it a little.

“Do you…want some?”

Kyungsoo studied Kai’s face as the younger one’s eyes moved from Kyungsoo to the ice cream, then back on him.

“Yes…” his voice was breathy and Kyungsoo almost smirked, when he brought the ice cream to his own lips, taking a little from it in his mouth, feeling Kai’s glance on him and the ice already melting. So instead of wasting time and energy and nerves, he buried his hand in Kai’s hair, tiptoeing in the same time he pulled him down to press their lips together.

He heard something fall to the ground and he assumed it was Kai dropping the bags, because next thing he knew two hands were circling him, pulling him closer. Kyungsoo captures Kai’s lip in between his and it felt weird, having the melting ice cream in his mouth, so cold, yet so warm.

He was still holding onto the ice cream with one hand, but the other one he moved down Kai’s toned arm, trying to get closer if that was even possible. And when the younger one’s tongue trailed his lips, Kyungsoo didn’t even hesitate to welcome him hotly.

After all, he didn’t mind him. Not at all. In fact, it felt beyond amazing, when Kai’s tongue started exploring his, savoring the melted ice cream.

And it was suddenly unbelievably hot. So damn hot…

Kyungsoo whimpered when Kai’s lips moved away from his and traces his jawline, placing soft kisses on his skin, and finally moved away.

“ _…fuck._ ”

“Why?” Kyungsoo breathed out and Kai stared back at him, forehead resting against his as he panted out.

“That was delicious.”

The shorter one looked down but didn’t move away. He was still in Kai’s arms in the middle of that valley on the campus, a melting ice cream in his hand and blood rushing to his cheeks.

“So no more additional trainings?”

“No more,” Kai whispered and touched the side of Kyungsoo’s face. “Do we count that for a date, by the way, or should I ask you out again?”

Kyungsoo blinked a few times, taken aback, but not really. Eyes shifting to the ice cream, he ignored the stinging feeling in his legs, and smiled a little.

“Yeah. I think it’s safe to count it for one.”

Kai’s smile was genuine, when he pulled Kyungsoo closer again, and the older one enjoyed it. Maybe a tad too much, but he didn’t care.

* * *

Kai sent Kyungsoo to his building and after a curt ‘see you tomorrow’ they parted ways and Kyungsoo took out his keys. The screen of his phone suddenly came to life and he took it out along with the keyring, as he saw the signal for a new text message.

And was pretty damn surprised to see about 10 of them.

 

**From: Annoying №1**

where are you?

 

**From: Annoying №1**

why are you taking so long?

 

**From: Annoying №1**

….Kyungsoo

 

**From: Annoying №1**

KYUNGSOO! WHY AREN’T YOU REPLYING

 

**From: Annoying №1**

DAMN YOU I AM GOING TO THE FIELD!

 

**From: Annoying №1**

WHY A REN”T YOU AT THE FIELD DO KYUNGSOO WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU

 

**From: Annoying №1**

ARE YOU ALRIGHT

 

**From: Annoying №1**

KYUNGSOO!

 

**From: Annoying №1**

WHAT THE FUCK….ARE YOU TWO FINALLY GETTING IT ON OR WHAT

 

**From: Annoying №1**

Kyungsoo….is that fucking you!? Is that KAI?!

**From: Annoying №1**

OH MY GOD IT IS YOU AND HIM!!!

 

**From: Annoying** **№1**

I sWEAR I WILL PUNCH YOU WHEN YOU GET UP HERE

 

Kyungsoo only laughed. Well there would be no sleep for him tonight obviously…As much as he hated the idea of being interrogated by Baekhyun, it still felt nice to share it with his best friend. And he was going to do just that.

And hopefully, this time, after enough threats the whole college wouldn’t find out…

* * *

Uuuuuugh, this was short and random, but I hope you liked it! ^^

Thank you for all the support! ^^

 

 


	9. -8-

08

Kyungsoo didn’t know what he’d expected to change. Maybe a lot.

He was expecting Baekhyun to slip and accidentally tell the other players about him and Kai. He was expecting the captain to be somehow kinder towards him during practice. Or maybe he was expecting random kisses at random times.

But he was wrong, because nothing changed.

Baekhyun for once kept his mouth shut and the only player he probably told was Chanyeol, Kai wasn’t giving him any kisses in public and he was definitely still treating him just as harshly as he did the other members during practice.

“WHY ARE ALL OF YOU SO OUT OF IT TODAY, DAMN IT!” the captain’s voice boomed on the field and Kyungsoo flinched.

They’ve been training for hours. They had a game in a few days and Kai was getting more and more vicious with every practice.

“I don’t know. Maybe because we can’t breathe properly?!” Sehun snapped and earned himself a glare from the quarterback.

“Yeah, let’s take a break,” Suho chided in, eyeing Kai, holding the folder closely to his chest. “Besides, I want to show you something for the formation…”

After a rather intense staredown, Kai nodded and announced a five minute break, as he retreated to the benches with Suho. And Kyungsoo, as well as 9 other guys let out sighs, some of them fell on the grass, finally affording themselves to breathe in deeply, to close their eyes for a few seconds.

And Kyungsoo moved his eyes towards the assistant of the coach and towards Kai…his boyfriend. The thought almost made it laugh.

It felt unreal. And he didn’t actually really feel it.

Right, they’ve gone out on dates, they were indeed kissing each other just like boyfriends would , but that was all. Or so Kyugnsoo thought. Maybe it was the fact that they were too busy with this upcoming game, and then with all the other ones that would follow during the college league…maybe after that they’d have the time to figure it out.

But Kyungsoo was impatient and he didn’t want to wait.

Kai, however, kept his head in the game. He was the captain and he held the responsibility for that team. And Kyungsoo could see the difference in him – he was sweet and kind when it was only the two of them out, but when he set foot on the field, his entire demeanor was changing. Almost as if becoming another person.

And the center wasn’t sure whether he liked it or not, but one thing he knew – he respected that.

Kai looked up to the team in that moment and their eyes met, but Kyungsoo didn’t look away.

He didn’t know what he was expecting.

The only thing he could see in the stoic expression was Captain Kai anyway.

* * *

“Hi…” Kyungsoo almost jumped when a tall, but slim figure appeared next to him in the hallway. When he turned to the side his eyes widened a little upon seeing Taemin, Kai’s friend. The one he hadn’t really liked at first. However, he composed himself and tried to force a smile.

“Hi.”

“You did really well on the game.”

“Wow,” Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows a little when he looked away from the smiling guy. “That was like two weeks ago, but yeah…thanks.”

“Oh I know.” The other one shrugged and Kyungsoo wondered why he was still by his side, why he was smiling brightly and mostly, whether he should quicken his pace and run away because he was kind of creeping him out with that sweet smile of his.  “So…”

Kyungsoo’s eyes darted up for a second and he tried not to look distressed by the way-over-the-top enthusiastic look on Taemin’s face.

“So what?”

“So you and Jongin, huh?” Kyungsoo tripped on his own feet, before looking up back to the guy. Taemin’s smile had evolved into a wide, knowing and teasing grin. “Don’t even try to lie, he told me already.”

Kyungsoo tried to compose himself, looking away from Taemin for a second, feeling heat rising on his cheeks. He closed his eyes for a moment, almost bumping into another student, but then he looked back towards Taemin.

“Why do you call him Jongin?”

It was Taemin’s turn to fall in temporary shock and to freeze in his spot, blinking towards Kyugnsoo a few times, the grin dropping from his face for a second.

Then he threw his head back and started laughing, and Kyungsoo could only furrow his brows. Taemin was laughing, his entire body shaking, his face getting red. He didn’t seem to care about the other students, that were passing by and looking at him as if he were mental (which he probably was, because Kyungsoo didn’t want to think that sane people acted like that on a daily basis).

However, as the younger one continued laughing, Kyungsoo grew uneasy. He’d asked a pretty normal question, no? So he patiently waited until Taemin was only slightly hiccupping from his laughter, before he raised an eyebrow.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“You literally asked me why I call Kai Jongin.”

“…yeah?”

“Oh my God, center boy…” Taemin laughed out again. “I think you should go and have a nice, long chat with Kai. You obviously don’t know much about him.”

Kyungsoo blankly looked at him, as he fixed the stripe of his bag and skipped backwards, retreating after a cheerful wave. Kyungsoo frowned even deeper, before eyeing the tall friend of Kai again.

He sighed out, before screaming, loud enough for Taemin to hear him from the other side of the hallway.

“It’s Kyungsoo!”

* * *

Kai was sitting on his bed, legs tangled with his laptop thrown to the side, his math textbooks on the other one. However, what he was deeply interested in was the game book that Suho had given him earlier.

His eyes were dancing on the pages, on the dots and the crosses, the harsh, but precise lines drawn on the paper, that were indicating the positions and the movements of the players.

And Kai had been studying those new formations for the past hour, trying to comprehend why Suho had even made them, when their formations now were good enough.

However, when he’d asked on the field, the assistant had whacked him on the head with the folder, eyes shifting towards the players.

And Kai had to sigh out. Suho had been right. Many of their players were with smaller structures and even the best players would have difficulties against the larger guys from the big teams. So in order to create advantage for them, he had to review these formations and talk with Suho on the next ay because if they were to change everything before the game, then they had to work twice as hard.

“Aren’t you going out tonight?” Yixing’s voice from the bed on the opposite side of the room almost scared him, but he stood calm, eyes not moving from the plans. He only shook his head.

“No, I’m busy.”

“What’s that?” the other one shifted and Kai bothered looking towards him for a mere second.

“This,” he lifted the game book just slightly, a seemingly calm smirk on his lips as he stared at his roommate. “…will be your life for the next two weeks.”

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo was lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He was biting on his lower lip in irritation, before he shot up in a matter of nanoseconds, scaring the hell out of Baekhyun, who flinched on the other bed from the sudden movement.

“You’re fucking crazy…” the older one breathed out, hand clutching the front of his chest as he gave Kyungsoo a dirty look, before picking up his papers again, muttering under his breath things that Kyungsoo probably wouldn’t want to hear.

“What are you doing?” the shorter one asked instead, eyes narrowing at the papers. Baekhyun looked at him again, expression still sore but somehow delighted, probably because Kyungsoo asked him. It almost seemed like Baekhyun had been waiting for Kyungsoo to ask.

“Yeah, well, I finally finished my exams and all I have on my plate is the trainings. So I went back to those compositions.”

Kyungsoo raised one eyebrow, but then shrugged. He had more important things to ask and he didn’t want to listen to all of Baekhyun’s rant before getting the chance to talk again.

“Cool. Can I ask you something?”

“Didn’t you already do that?”

“Shut up.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, sliding his hands off the bed, facing Baekhyun. “Why does that Taemin guy call Kai Jongin? Is it some sort of nickname or…?”

“Hm? More like a name.” Baekhyun’s lips were twitching, forming one of his countless taunting smiles. “You don’t know?”

“I obviously don’t!” Kyungsoo hissed and Baekhyun’s smirk toned down a bit, as he shrugged it off.

“Don’t tell me you thought Kai is his real name.” Kyungsoo only blinked a few times, feeling himself getting smaller and smaller, as Baekhyun’s smile rose on his face again. “Oh my God, you did! You thought his name was Kai!”

“What?! It is a name! how was I supposed to know?! He could have been partially Chinese or something…” Kyungsoo muttered, and tried to ignore Baekhyun’s chuckles. However,a s the older one didn’t show any signs of stopping, Kyungsoo threw a pillow at him, once again, with a perfect aim at his head.

“Okay, okay, sorry. Yeah, Jongin is his real name. Kai is only a nickname he has. But I guess it’s more impressive than Jongin, it makes you feel more respect. And mind you, Kai’s a sucker for attention, he’s the quarterback, after all. I guess people are used to calling him that already.”

Kyungsoo stood still for a few seconds, making no noise whatsoever. Instead, he was thinking, how ridiculous it all seemed.

Kai was supposedly his boyfriend, yet he knew literally nothing about him, not even his name. Which was a quite sad and funny revelation. Kyungsoo’s face twitched bitterly, when he thought about how many other things he didn’t know about Kai…no, about Jongin.

He knew everything about Kai – the popular kid on campus, the talented quarterback, the dreamboy.

But he knew nothing about Jongin.

So he took his phone out and with confident taps typed in the message. He didn’t hesitate even for a second before cicking the send button.

 

**To: Kai**

Let’s go out? We have stuff to talk about

 

The reply was almost instant.

 

**From: Kai**

Why do you sound so serious? Did I fuck up?

**From: Kai**

Anyway, yeah…I’ll pick you up in ten

 

So Kyungsoo sighed out in content, because he hadn’t really seen Kai, or Jongin, outside of the field these last few days. And he wans’t entirely fooling himself when he was thinking that he’d go out to find out more about the man he was meeting.

But it wasn’t the entire truth. He’d just missed him. And probably, the feeling of his fingers entwined with his. The softness of his lips against his.

Baekhyun lazily looked up from his music sheets, when Kyugnsoo started changing.

“You going somewhere?”

“Yeah. Out.”

“Oh my God, you’re actually socializing without me dragging you around.” Baekhyun faked a proud expression. “Kai is working miracles on you. And speaking of miracles, did you get laid already?”

Baekhyun deserved the other pillow that went flying in his direction.

* * *

Kai didn’t seem to mind the people that were passing by them on the campus, because when Kyungsoo tried to wiggle out of his arms, the grip around his hand was becoming tighter. And Kyungsoo couldn’t say that he didn’t like it. He actually enjoyed it. And maybe he was also being a little mean, but he also enjoyed the scandalized gazes of some of the girls that looked over at them.

However, these people didn’t matter now, because Kyungsoo still had his own worried. He raised his beer can to his lips and took a rather brave sip, before turning towards Kai.

“Tell me more about yourself.” He barely whispered, but the taller one heard him and turned towards him with a little smile.

“More about myself? Like what?”

“Like your family, your interests, your dreams, your favourite animals and your favourite colors. Stuff like that.”

Kyungsoo appreciated the little smirk of Kai, before he brought his own beer to his lips, tilting his head slightly.

“I have two older sisters and my parents have their own company. They are sickeningly happy. My interests are football and having fun. My dreams…I want to become a person, who will be remembered. Also, I have a weird mania for dogs and my favourite colors are black and red.” Kai smiled, turning back towards him. “What about you?”

“Mmm, I have a brother-“

“Oh, no…”

“What?” Kyungsoo looked up and saw Kai smirking lightly.

“A brother. Will he try to beat me up or something if he finds out about us?”

“No, but if I were you I’d look out for my father.” Kyungsoo replied and only felt Kai’s fingers tightening around his hand. “Yeah, well…my hobbies are football, of course, and singing. I dream of becoming somebody relevant someday. I want to contribute to this world somehow. Also, I like fantasy movies and my favourite color is black.”

Kyungsoo looked up after the end of his small rant and saw Jongin looking at him already, a small smile on his lips.

“You sing?”

Kyungsoo looked away instantly, feeling that he’d made a mistake. Instead, another conversation resurfaced in his memory – the day with the car wash. He’d asked Kai whether he danced, and he’d replied…

“A little.” Kyungsoo shrugged, leaning against Kai’s shoulder, licking his lower lip in concentration, not daring to look up. “I bet you will be remembered. You are amazing, Jongin.”

He felt the taller one tensing for a second beside him, before he completely stopped, pulling Kyungsoo around.

And for a second, the older one shut his eyes closed, thinking that Kai hated this. That he probably didn’t want to be called by his real name by him. That probably this wasn’t something Kyugnsoo should have allowed himself to do. After all, Taemin’s been a friend of Kai for years, but him…

Then he looked up and had to blink a few times before comprehending it.

Kai was beaming. His lips were pulled back in a wide smile, revealing a row of perfect teeth. His entire face was lit up, as he pulled Kyungsoo closer.

“Who told you?” he questioned quietly and Kyungsoo almost stammered.

“Well, I heard Taemin calling you that and when I asked him he made fun of me. Baekhyun, too.”

“Ignore them, they’re idiots.” The captain said and brought a hand up to push away a strand of hair from Kyungsoo’s forehead. Then the palm of his hand slid down, cupping his face. “It sounds good when you say it.”

Kyungsoo smiled on his own turn, eyes finding Jongin’s. The chocolate orbs were twinkling with excitement.

“So you don’t mind me calling you that? You don’t…hate it?”

“Why the hell would I hate it?” Jongin shook his head with another wide smile. “I love it.”

It was Kyungsoo who tiptoed to peck Jongin on the lips quickly, before retreating just as fast, raising the beer can to his mouth.

“Okay. Good. I thought you didn’t want me to know or something.”

“That is ridiculous. Why would I want that?” the other one snorted. “Say it again.”

“What? Your name?” Kyungsoo side eyed him, feeling his entire face burning. He could only be grateful that it was evening and that his blush wouldn’t be that visible.

“Yeah. It sounds nice when you say it…”

“Goodness,” Kyungsoo breathed out in a  chuckle. “Is that a fetish? Is that why only taemin calls you that?”

“Taemin calls me Jongin because he’s just insolent and I can do nothing about it. But yeah, you could say it could be a fetish. Your lips look really nice when-“

“I think I’ll just stick to Kai.”

* * *

Excuse me for my lack of creativity I am so done with myself...

Anyway, please comment! :) Thank you! 


	10. -9-

09

It was a really busy time for all the students in the university. The sessions were now, almost everybody had exams, except for the people from the law faculty, who had already finished. That’s why Kyungsoo was currently frowning above his book, sending dirty glares towards Baekhyun – the law student who was very passionately screaming and trashing on his bed, because of the stupid video game he was playing.

“TAKE THAT, YOU FILTHY-“

“BAEKHYUN, DAMN IT!” Kyungsoo snapped and probably surprised his roommate. However, he’d been trying to concentrate for more than 2 hours now and Baekhyun wasn’t helping. “Will you shut up? I am trying to study here!”

“Yeah, sure, sorry. You seem to be quite touchy today, are you on your period? Do you want me to go buy you tampons, my lady?”

“I’m so done with you…” the younger one angrily stood up from the chair and grasped his bag and book rather harshly. Without sparing another glance towards his roommate (because he was pretty damn sure that if he saw anything resembling a smirk or smile he wouldn’t be able to hold back the punch) he headed for the door, to only once again be interrupted.

“Don’t come early. Channie is coming over.”

“And I will personally drag him out by his ears if he’s still here. Tell Dumbo I said hi.” Just before stepping out of the room, Kyungsoo froze on his spot for a moment and turned around with squinted eyes. “And if I find out that for some reason you’ve even gone close to my bed I will suffocate you with a pillow in your sleep, are we clear?”

Baekhyun blinked at him slowly, an unreadable expression of his face, before he tilted his head.

“You could have just said that you prefer pads…”

The way Kyungsoo shut the door after himself with the loudest ‘bang’ ever could have probably been heard up to Building D. The sound of Baekhyun’s laughter, however, could probably even reach the faculty building.

Kyungsoo wasn’t really thrilled, but at least now he felt kind of better, now that he was away from the noise. It was a quiet afternoon on the campus – everybody was probably indoors, studying. And since he couldn’t really get back in his room, not anytime soon with Chanyeol coming later (he shuddered at the thought and made a mental note to change his sheets), he decided to head for the library.

It wasn’t away from his dorm, but the idea of having to study there instead of his room was making him annoyed. Damn Baekhyun. He swore in that moment that someday, when his roommate had something important to do, he’d blast music and play video games just to bother him. But then again, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do that, he didn’t have the insolence in himself, to do it deliberately.

There weren’t really many people in the library either and that was surprising. However, Kyungsoo still politely nodded at the woman behind the counter and proceeded down the known railing. And since he was here anyway, he was going to use the chance to revise some old stuff – grabbing two books from the previous course, he headed for the tables at the end of the library hall.

And just when he was about to sit down, something caught his eyesight and he smirked lightly. He saw a very familiar back, just two tables away, a stack of books next to the person, hands buried in their hair in what had to be frustration.

Kyungsoo picked up the books again and approached the other table quietly, sneaking up behind the other person. And then leaning forward with a wide grin to see the profile of Jongin’s face.

“Boo.”

“HOLY-….” Jongin screeched, but stopped just in time, hand clutching the front of his shirt. He gave the shorter one a judging look, before he proceeded quietly, almost whispering in the library. “Fuck, Kyungsoo….you scared the crap out of me.”

“Hello,” the older one chuckled quietly, seating himself on the chair next to Jongin, his eyes hesitantly tracing the other one’s lips, wondering whether it would be acceptable to lean forward and peck them.

Jongin didn’t seem to be having such inner debates, or he may have simply noticed Kyungsoo’s struggles, because he was the one who captured Kyungsoo’s lips between his, giving him a fast, yet sweet peck.

And suddenly Kyungsoo’s day wasn’t that awful. He smiled lightly, keeping his voice low.

“What are you doing here?”

“Economics.” Jongin jugged his chin at the books with an exasperated look. “You?”

“I had to run away from Baekhyun or I would have ended up beating him up.” he explained quickly. “But anyway, how did your maths exam go?”

“I think it went well…I’ll tell you when the results come out.” Jongin’s chuckle was nervous, but Kyungsoo gave him an encouraging smile, hand resting on his knee.

And they looked at each other for a few moments, Kyungsoo staring at the chocolate eyes that seemed to be burning holes in his head. And just when he started feeling the urge to kiss Kim Jongin again, because he really looked kissable in that moment, the younger one smiled, revealing a row of perfect teeth.

“What am I going to do, you’re distracting me…”

“Oh, I can go and-“

“No.” it was Jongin’s turn to put his hand on Kyungsoo’s leg. “Stay. It’s better this way. I don’t mind being distracted by you.”

“Now you’re being cheesy.”

Jongin only laughed quietly, not loud enough for the librarian to scowl at them, but not quiet enough to not attract the attention of the other students in the hall. Kyungsoo felt himself blushing, because the other one’s arm was still on his thigh.

“Well I have an idea. We both learn now, and after we finish with that we can go get some ice cream…how does that sound?”

“Is ice cream going to be a tradition of ours or something?”

Jongin grinned at the question, finally moving his hand away and grabbing the pencil.

“Only if it’s Mint and chocolate and Cotton Candy.”

“God, you’re so lame…”

* * *

Jongin was holding onto the ends of the towel draped behind his neck, breathing heavily and observing the people in front of him.

The movements of his best friend were fast, swift. Strong, yet somehow soft. Taemin was born for this and only God knew why he was wasting his time in the chemistry department, when it was obvious that all he lived for was music and dancing. Just like it was for Kai and football. Probably the same reason – parents.

“So that’s it,” Taemin abruptly stopped dancing and the other kids from the dance club stopped, too. They were looking up to him, as he started explaining something about the moves and Jongin only sighed out.

He _admired_ Taemin. Mostly for being that good at what he was doing with a passion. Here’s where they were different – Taemin knew how to dance and how to make the others feel his emotions. In football, however, he couldn’t pass on his feelings.

Unless, of course, he decided to punch somebody, but that would only get him a penalty.

Jongin’s aim was to become as good as Taemin in his task and that was, of course, leading the team. He didn’t think he was a bad captain, no. But surely, he was lacking a lot. He simply wanted to learn, to find the way to make his team become closer, to think like a team.

Because these days during practices he had noticed something – yes, all the boys were good at what they were doing. But they were thinking individually, when they were supposed to think as a team. Their personal skills were on point, but their teamwork was lacking. A lot.

So he carefully watched as Taemin gathered the first years around and started explaining cheerfully how and what they were supposed to do. And with dancing it was difficult – every routine was different and unique. With football, they only had to follow one formation and for that, Jongin was being a bit skeptical. If he could take on one thing from the dance lessons it was the creativity – he wished he could bring that into the football somehow. Make it different. Make it unique.

“Don’t forget, we’re gathering at eight in the morning tomorrow!” Taemin finally retreated from the little group. “If anything’s wrong, call me, alright?”

Kai remained silent while the younger people in the studio nodded, cheerfully answering his best friend. And when they finally moved away to gather their stuff, prepare to flee, he whipped his head in Taemin’s direction.

“What’s going on tomorrow? I thought the club only had practice in Sundays?”

“Yes.” Taemin shrugged, getting a towel to drape over his neck himself. “But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do stuff as a team. We’re going hiking tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Jongin mused, brows furrowing. This was exactly what he meant – Taemin was managing to make a team out of his dancers. And he needed to do that, too.

“I didn’t tell you because you have your exam tomorrow…right?”

“Yeah.” The younger one confirmed, before turning back to the floor to ceiling windows in the university’s dancing studio, staring at his own reflection for a second.

He knew he was good looking – so did the rest of the population around him. He was well built, not the typical footballer, but strong enough to know that he could win. But in this moment on his expression he could see nothing but confusion and probably irritation.

“Hey, Taemin…why hiking?”

“And why not?” the other one retorted. “Hiking is fun. It also doesn’t require a lot of time. And it is a nice way to bond, so we’re going together.”

“Do you even know how to hike?” Jongin finally shot a look at his best friend. “Excuse me, but what happens if you break your skull or something?”

“That’s the point in going with them. We are going together to help each other out. Bonds are based on trust, don’t you think? So if I trust them with helping me climb up a cliff, then I am pretty sure that I can create a team good enough to dance together for about four minutes, no?”

They remained silent for a few second in which Jongin processed the words. That was it – bonds are based on trust.

“So you basically trust them with your life?”

That was the moment his best friends’ lips pulled back in a grin and a snort escaped his throat.

“Goodness, no. I cannot risk smashing my head in a rock or something. That’s why Minho’s coming with us.”

And after the image of Taemin’s muscular, athletic boyfriend flooded in Jongin’s mind, he finally sighed out, shaking his head lightly, before throwing a judging look at his best friend.

“You’re such an idiot, really. How does life even work out for you?”

Another grin. No response.

Kai sighed out. He was going to find a way to make it work out.

* * *

Kyungsoo was focusing on the way Kai was holding his hand tightly as they were strolling down the dark alley of the park. His fingers felt smooth and gentle entangled with his, but their grasp was strong and secure and it make the shorter one smile with consent.

However, there was something distant in Kai’s expression. He seemed somehow out of it and when Kyungsoo once again looked at him and saw the same dazed expression, he tilted his head.

“Are you nervous?”

“Hm?” the taller one snapped out of his thoughts and looked down. “What? Nervous? Why?”

“The exams tomorrow?” Kyungsoo tried, but Jongin only smiled and shook his head, grasping his hand a little tighter for a second.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just thinking about the team.” Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows a little, still walking down side by side with Jongin. And judging by his expression, he really had been thinking a lot, he have seemed kind of confused and it was making Kyungsoo curious. “I was thinking that all of us should…somehow…bond.”

“O-…oh…” that was the only thing that left Kyungsoo’s mouth, because really: 1) he couldn’t quite understand and 2) it just sounded wrong.

And maybe Jongin caught up on his confusion, because he just shrugged.

“I don’t really know, I just think that I should do something for all of us to become more like a team. I mean, we’re good enough, but we could be better! And we really need that, especially if we have to play against YG.” The captain sighed out, seeming somehow burdened. “I just want to make a team out of us. A real team and not just a group of twelve boys gathered around to scream and pass a ball around a field.”

Kyungsoo was slightly taken aback by the words. He certainly hadn’t viewed the team as ‘a group of boys who scream and pass a ball around a field’ before. But now, after hearing the captain say it, he thought about it for a few seconds – he had to agree with him. Except for Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Kai he wasn’t really that close with the others. Right, he could call them friends, probably, but he didn’t actually know them.

Maybe that was simply because he was \the new guy’, but he was pretty sure that had seen all these smaller circles in the main group. Not everybody was communicating with the others and probably that’s what Kai meant.

“I see…” Kyungsoo muttered, turning back to him. “But how exactly do you want to make it happen?”

“I have no fucking clue.” The answer was fast and there was an undertone of irritation in Jongin’s voice, which Kyungsoo thought was adorable. So he only grasped Jongins hand tighter and went closer to him, head almost leaning against the other’s shoulder.

“I’d suggest a fund raising event again, but I really don’t want to have a bunch of delusional girls coming to wash their car ten times just to see you in a wet T-shirt.”

Jongin’s body shook a little when he laughed and Kyungsoo smiled.

“Thank you, I guess. But the same goes back to you.” The quarterback let out a heavy sigh after that. “No, I guess something more distanced from the every day life. Something away from the university and from all the nosy people here.”

“So like, camping?” Kyungsoo questioned and was once again taken aback when Jongin stopped in his spot, giving him an incredulous look. “What?”

“Wait, that's….that’s actually a good idea!” Jongin mused quetly and just judging by the dazed eyes, he really seemed like he was already imagining it. “Yes…yes, that’s it. Goodness, Soo, this is it! We all will go camping together!”

“Wait, what?” the shorter one furrowed his brows. “No, no, no. That was only a suggestion. I wasn’t really serious. Camping is the worst thing.”

“It is the best thing!”

“No, what the fuck, no! Do you even imagine what camping would be with Baekhyun and Chanyeol together? And goodness, with Chen?!” Kyungsoo felt his eyes widen just at the thoughts about it. “Do you really want to wake up in the morning and find out that you’re floating in the middle of a lake or something?! Or have somebody scare the hell out of you while you’re pissing in the woods or something?! No, no camping. That is a bad, bad idea.”

* * *

“That is a _brilliant_ idea!” Suho’s eyes twinkled as soon as Jongin announced it after their practice two days later. His eyes were following everybody in the room, reading their reactions. Most of them, although tired and sweaty from the training, seemed excited about it. However, as his gaze stopped on Kyungsoo, he saw a pair of wide eyes staring right into his soul, mouth lightly agape. The smaller one seemed shocked that he’d actually done that…

“I know.” Jongin grinned at the assistant of the coach. “We will be missing one training, but I think it is worth it.”

“And to think these words are coming out of Kim Kai’s mouth…” he saw Luhan furrowing his brows in fake concern. “Are you OK? Do you have fever or something?”

“Shut up.” The captain cut him off, once again looking back to everybody on the benches. “We’re leaving Friday after classes end, so about lunchtime. We will stay there for the rest of the day, Saturday and Sunday. We’ll leave Sunday afternoon and on Monday we resume with the training graphic. Any questions?”

“Yes.” Chen said and his voice resounded in the locker room. “Where exactly is that ‘there’?”

“Chungju Lake.” Jongin announced and once again he heard enthusiastic muttering and also a low groan from the corner where Kyungsoo was sitting. And Jongin barely concealed the entertained smirk. Did Kyungsoo really think he’d end up waking up in the middle of the lake? “We’ll be taking my car and...who else can drive? Chanyeol? Luhan?”

After receiving nods from said boys, Jongin grinned again but before he could give anymore instructions, he got interrupted by Sehun, who had a scandalized expression on his face.

“Wait, wait, wait. Camping? As in, sleeping in a tent?”

“Last time I checked that’s what camping meant, you moron.”

“Shut up, Baekhyun…I am serious…I can’t sleep in a tent! Especially not with them!”

“Well you can sleep outside of the tent then, for all I care,” Kai rolled his eyes at Sehun’s frown, but ignored it. Sehun was all talk, he knew that once they reached the spot he’d love it. So he turned back to the entire team, receiving a lot of courage from the enthusiastic look in Suho’s eyes. “This is important for the team, so I expect all of you for once to be understanding. Besides, it’s not like I am torturing you. We’ll all have fun! Right?”

The enthusiastic shouts made him smile. There were a few exceptions, of course, and one of them happened to be his boyfriend.

But Kai didn’t really mind. Kyungsoo would love this trip. He’d make sure he would.

* * *

“Stop being so negative, everything’s going to be alright!” Jongin promised, grasping Kyungsoo’s hands after throwing in his bag with clothes next to his in the car. He was saying this mostly because the shorter one’s face was still skeptical. And since it wasn’t changing, Jongin decided to lean forward and place a soft kiss on his lips.

Kyungsoo didn’t pull away. He never did and that was making Jongin feel rather happy. Because when Kyungsoo parted his lips and breathed out against Jongin’s skin, the younger one felt himself shivering, barely keeping his hands to himself.

“I shall pretend I didn’t see that.”

Jongin immediately pulled back a little and looked to the side, seeing Baekhyun skipping down the alley towards them. There was a knowing smirk on his lips when he approached them.

“You better not tell anybody or-

“I know I know, you’ll kill me in ways I haven’t imagined,” Baekhyun interrupted Kyugnsoo and rolled his eyes. Jongin was quite amused by the fact that Baekhyun wasn’t fazed by the threats. Kyungsoo could be quite scary if he wanted to be. Besides, he wasn’t the center of the team for nothing. He could easily beat him up. “Anyway, everybody gathered, so let’s go.”

Kai nodded and jugged his chin at the land rover he’d lent from his father.

“Get in,” he waited for the two guys to get in the car and after that he started the engine.

They only needed to get the car back to the main gates of SM College, where they’d rearrange. However, even that two minutes long ride was a torture with the bickering of Kyungsoo and Baekhyun. Jongin smirked a little to himself, he didn’t even want to imagine what life was in their dorm. And he preferred it that way – he was used to living with Yixing.

Lay was quiet and nice, understanding and really accepting. One of Jongin’s closest friends. And in moment like this one, when he was witnessing calm and collected people like Kyungsoo turning into fierce messes, he was being grateful that he wasn’t rooming with people like Baekhyun. And the sole idea led him to another thought – maybe Kyungsoo was right.

How was he going to withstand almost three days of this? Were they going to always bicker like that? And the others, too. Especially Sehun and his whining…

But Kai hurried to shake his head and get rid of these thoughts. He was the captain. And he was making this happen, so if he even heard these guys arguing while they were out camping to create a bond, he was going to make them run laps around the lake.

And it wasn’t even a bluff.

* * *

Kyungsoo was sitting in the front seat next to Jongin and Suho and Lay were behind them. He was pretty damn happy with the people who’d gathered in this car. In the other cars, however…Kyungsoo feared that with Chen, Chanyeol and Baekhyun being in one vehicle together with Xiumin somebody would either get killed or raped. Or they’d run into another car or something…And about the third car – with Kris, Tao, Luhan and Sehun…he didn’t even want to think about that. He highly suspected that the car was full of Tao and Sehun’s whining about having to go in the wild, or filled with talks about either fashion brands, or soccer.

So he decided to ignore them and simply enjoyed the company in this car – it was actually really quiet and when he looked back at one point he’d noticed that both Lay and Suho had fallen asleep, heads dangerously bobbing because of Kai’s kind of reckless driving. Maybe just because of that Kyungsoo couldn’t stay calm in his seat, but his eyes were skipping from the road to Jongin and then back to the road.

“Maybe…a bit slower?” he suggested and got himself a smirk from Jongin, who looked at him.

“Why? Are you scared?”

“Eyes on the road, Jongin!” Kyungsoo almost screeched and thankfully, the taller one complied this time. “Slow down! We’ll get there today, but let’s do it alive, OK?”

“Honestly….” The captain scoffed. “There’s no reason to be afraid. I can drive with my eyes closed, this is-“

“Jongin! Please!”

The driver looked at Kyungsoo with slightly widened eyes and Kyungsoo made sure to look at him with a hard face. Or at least, he tried to. It probably ended up looking half scared, half begging. In any case, it must have worked, because it was visible how the car wasn’t flying on the road now. There was also an angry beep of a car behind them and Jongin laughed quietly.

“See? That’s why we don’t slow down. Chanyeol almost bumped into us…”

“Fuck Chanyeol…”

“There we go with the bonding…”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Kyungsoo started, brows slightly furrowed. “I understand what you expect from this trip, but…you do realize that all you’ll get is whining and dumb idiocy and also probably two sleepless nights because Chanyeol can’t keep his dick in his pants?”

Kyungsoo watched as Jongin pursed his lip for a second, before a smile rose on his lips.

“Well, that’s some sort of bonding too, isn’t it? I mean, you don’t get to hear two of your friends fucking every day.”

“I’ve heard it more than enough…”

“Well, most of us haven’t.” Jongin laughed, but then shrugged. “It’s OK, Soo…whatever it is, it is a little change. We will get to spend some time together, all twelve of us, so whatever happens, it’s good.”

“I like your optimism.” Kyungsoo noted and that wasn’t a lie. He really did. And for the first time in an hour he finally leaned back in the seat, because Jongin’s driving was a lot more reasonable now.

“Besides,” Jongin started with a chuckle, looking at him for a mere second. “We can always try to compete with Chanyeol and Baekhyun, don’t you think so?”

Kyungsoo hadn’t known that a person could choke on air, but he was the living proof that it was possible – as soon as Jongin finished his sentence, Kyungsoo felt like he was dying. His eyes widened as he looked up to the younger one, hand clutching the end of his own sleeve.

“…what?!”

Another glance from Jongin, another smirk.

“What?”

“Kai…”

“I thought you were calling me Jongin now…”

“That’s it, stop the car. I am going back.”

Jongin simply laughed not so quietly and Kyungsoo saw Lay and Suho stirring in the backseats.

“I am joking, Kyungsoo…”

And the smaller one looked back up with a daring look in his eyes. He had known that. But still, these types of jokes were making him feel….not weird. Not bad or uncomfortable. They were making him feel pressured. He had been brought up with the mindset that sex was something important between two people in love…and he couldn’t quite say that he was in love with Jongin. Not yet.

Head over heels? Yes. Totally melting because of him? Definitely.

But not in love.

“I know,” he muttered and only received another stare from Jongin.

“Hey…you’re not…are you angry?!”

“No.”

“Don’t be angry, I was just joking.”

“I told you I’m not angry.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “It’s just that you caught me off guard, that’s all…”

“Don’t worry. I will wait for you, I’m not rushing things.”

“God, your’e making this awkward.” Kyungsoo groaned and lifted his legs up on the seat, since Jongin obviously didn’t mind. Then he reached out to take his handphone, because it was common sense – take the phone to escape awkward situations. And when he unlocked it he saw a notification for a new message.

 

**** **From: Annoying №1**

          why r u slowing down?

          are u giving him a blowjob or something?!?

 

Heaving a sigh, he collected his willpower not to make Jongin stop the car so that he could simply go and punch his roommate. Instead, he hurried to type back a reply

 

**To:** **Annoying №1**

Just you wait until we reach the lake, Byun…         

You’re done for…         

 

**From: Annoying №1**

          Shit…

* * *

Jongin waited for everybody to get out of the cars and to get their bags out. Him, Chanyeol and Suho were bringing tents and it was supposed to be enough for everybody. And since theyw ere carrying that, the rest of the guys had to take the groceries and the other bags.

 

“OKAY, WHO THE FUCK BROUGH A CHARGER?!” Chen’s laugher roared and echoed in the forest around them. “Who was that dumb? Where are you going to stick that charger?”

“I’ll stick that up your ass if you don’t shut up!” Tao strided up to Chen and grasped it from his hands, looking offended. “It is with sun battery!”

“What? You have a charger?” Sehun suddenly seemed interested in life in general and Kai only frowned. If the socializing of these two would mean hanging on their phones all day long…

He set the bag with the tent on the ground and walked up to them, pulling the charger out of Tao’s hands while he was distracted guffawing with Sehun.

“No chargers. No handphones. We came here to spend some time away from everything and to develop as a team, I thought I was clear enough…”

“You can’t-“

“I just did.” Kai snapped at Tao, before turning towards Suho. “Gather their phones. We won’t give them back until we’re back at the university.”

“Then let’s leave now.”

“It’s that way,” Kai raised his hand and glared at Sehun. “Have a nice walk.”

“Wow, what a dick…”

“Thanks, it’s actually impressive,” Kai glared at him again and he decided to ignore the murmurs. However, he acknowledged the few sounds of encouragement he heard from beside himself – Chen, Suho and Xiumin seemed to be quite enthusiastic about it all, gathering the phones against the players’ will. “We have two days and a half to become something more than just a group of football players, OK?! We have two days and a half to become something more than just the wolves of SM. We could be more and we could be better! It’s up to us! And now we have two days and a half to prove that with a little push we can actually function like a real team, alright?” Jongin stopped for a second, deciding to use Taemin’s exact words. “Bonds depend on trust. So in these days I want all of us to become closer. OK?”

He stared at all the players and it was quiet for a few seconds, before Chanyeol raised his arm.

“Do you mean closer like-“

“If I hear you bringing up sex even once I will put you in a different tent than Baekhyun.” Kai cut him off, eyes once again inspecting each player’s face. And they lingered a little longer on Kyungsoo. There was an approving glint in his eyes and Jongin enjoyed that.

Now he had two and a half days to make it happen – and he was quite positive that it would work. If it could work for Taemin and the dancers it could also work out for him and the football players. Right?

He looked up when he saw another hand shooting up in the air and he raised his eyes to look at Tao and his expression that hinted that what would follow would be nothing else but whining. So Jongin braced himself when the other one opened his mouth.

“Can’t I have my phone back? How am I supposed to take pictures for Instagram if I don’t even have my phone?! You can’t make me come to some forgotten by God place and leave me without my phone!”

“Tao, shut up…”Chen chided in and Jongin just blinked a few times.

This was going to be one long weekend.

* * *

Woooooop, I am being so random omfg...Next chapter you;ll get the camping fiascos, otherwise this would have become too long. Besides, i am a tease lol

Anyway, ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT! YOU ALL ARE AMAZING AND I AM CRYING :')

Also, I read all the comment, I just wanted to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO  WRITE THEM! I APPRECIATE EVRY SINGLE ONE OF THEM thank you thank you thank you! ^^

And well, see you next time, I guess, I hope you enjoyed that :)


	11. -10-

10

“So what exactly are we going to do here?” it was Tao with his skeptical expression who asked as soon as they’d set up the tents on the rocky beach next to the lake.

And it was the first time Kai froze for a second and blinked blankly – he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t really thought about anything concrete, just the normal camping stuff – campfire stories, swimming, just activities together.

“Don’t worry!” Suho, however, replied with a rather enthusiastic grin. “I made a schedule.”

“Wow, no.”

Kai had to somehow agree with Chen’s comment, because _no_. Nobody really needed Suho’s schedules for the time they were supposed to use to have fun together. The older one’s smile dropped.

“But you haven’t even seen it yet, why are you so fast to ju-“

“Give it to me, then…” Chen urged before Kai could even react and when the assistant finally handed it over, Kai’s eyes darted to the shorter one who was reading it. And judging by the way his eyebrows were furrowing deeper and deeper, his expression become more and more amused, he assumed it was bad. Probably even for Suho.

“…picking up berries from the woods, hide and seek, squirt guns, rel-“

“Did I hear somebody say squirting?”

“Shut up, Luhan.” Chen looked up from the list. “What the fuck is this, Suho? Do we look like five year olds?”

“But squirting is not for five year olds…”

“Oh my fucking god, will somebody keep him silent?” Chen mused and Kai could only roll his eyes, grabbing the sheet of paper out of front runner’s hands.

“We don’t need a schedule.” He said, all eyes turning to him. “Also, I think he’s right, Suho. We’re not going to pick up berries...and no hide and seek, I can’t risk losing Lay in the woods somewhere.”

“Right…I hadn’t thought about that…” the older one’s eyes shifted towards the Chinese student, who seemed as clueless as ever, and then he sighed out. “Then what are we going to do for three days?”

Kai looked around once again, eleven pairs of expectant eyes staring at him. And he once again watched at his friends and his team, eyes lingering on Kyungsoo for a few seconds, as if trying to find the answer in his round eyes. Or probably in the plump lips.

But the rueful, calm and collected expression of the other one didn’t really help him in any way to concentrate. Neither did the small smirk. In fact, it was distracting him from thinking.

When he looked away, he cleared his throat before speaking.

“Well, the tents are all set up, so we need to gather woods first. Four of us will go for the woods, four will unpack the food and four will set out the blankets for the campfire.”

“But it’s too early for campfire,” Chanyeol pointed out, eyes darting towards the sun shining in the middle of the sky above them. And Kai shot him a glare, before continuing.

“After we set it all up, we can go swimming. And in the evening we’ll come back here and start the fire. Then we’ll see.”

His eyes darted over the members again and most of them nodded. Kai ignored Suho’s quiet mumbling about swimming being on his list, then smiled again.

“Okay. Off we go, then.”

A groan was heard among the enthusiastic urges and shouts.

“There we go…off to the woods to gather branches. What next? Will we have to go hunting?” Tao was whining. “What is this even? Reconnecting with Mother Nature, fuck this. I just want my phone back. I swear, I am degrading here…”

All Kai could do was turn around and pretend that the chuckle was a cough.

But judging by the way Kyungsoo’s eyes were twinkling when he looked towards him, and how they flicked to the blond Chinese, somehow amused, Jongin realized that he’d been caught.

And he didn’t really mind that.

* * *

Kyungsoo was used to seeing abs and muscles every time he entered the locker rooms. But getting to see his team members emerge from the woods one by one, wearing nothing but swimming trunks or boxers was an entirely new thing.

He was confident with his body, even though his abs weren’t as prominent as Kai’s or Xiumin’s…even though they weren’t prominent at all…Anyway, he had a nice, toned body and didn’t feel shy to join them in his trunks, because let’s be honest – he’d seen all of them half naked, but they’d also seen him, so it was all even.

His eyes were darting around the small beach of the lake, where the football players were enthusiastically (or not so much) entering the water, splashing each other. He heard Suho declaring that he’d stay out on the beach to read a book under the rays of sunshine, then he heard his shriek as Chen forcefully pulled him inside of the lake.

Kyungsoo was standing tall, watching the entire picture in front of himself with laughing boys splashing in the water, but then sounds from behind attracted his attention and he whipped his head in that direction – Sehun was frowning besides a very enthusiastic (and sexy) looking Kai, who was approaching the lake and Kyungsoo with a radiant, unfazed smile (and with a toned, muscular chest in all its glory).

Kyungsoo momentarily looked away when their eyes locked for a second, just moments before the two younger ones reached him.

“Aren’t you going to enter?” Kai questioned as soon as they reached him and Kyungsoo, trying hard not to get distracted by the exposed skin, nodded somehow distractedly.

“Uh, yeah…you?”

 _Cool Kyungsoo_ , he snorted on the inside, cringing at his own dumbness, _now you can tell him that the weather today is nice. Tch_.

But the younger one didn’t seem to mind, because his grin just turned into a softer smile. Sehun, however, behind him arched his eyebrows and gave Kyungsoo a weird look, before walking in between them, pushing them slightly apart.

“You can go suck dick somewhere else. Don’t make the lake nasty.”

“That’s it. You’re not going to sleep with Luhan in the same tent!” Kai hollered and before Kyungsoo knew it he was attacking Sehun, pushing him into the water. The one didn’t let himself be defeated, but instead turned around to ‘fight’ back and Kyungsoo’s smile only widened a little, as he tried to ignore the heat on his cheeks, caused by the comment of Sehun. Instead, he watched the two friends being silly. Sehun let out a series of curses as Kai tackled him in the water, before he managed to push him over as well. And Kyungsoo decided that just looking at that was no fun, so in the end, he started taking long strides towards the not so still water, Kai raising his eyes towards him and smiling again.

And Kyungsoo was smiling too, having more fun than he had had in the last few weeks, walking forward, entering the not cold, but not warm water. And he was just about to say something, water almost reaching his waist, but suddenly his whole body was being sprayed with water from all sides and before he knew it, somebody was pushing him down, another pair of hands pulling him forward.

The last thing he saw before the football players tackled him into the water too was Kai’s wide grin just before he started laughing.

* * *

As the sun started disappearing slowly below the mountains, some of the football players declared that they were getting out of the lake.

They’d been playing around for hours now and maybe some of them had started feeling cold or probably just tired. But Kai wasn’t even close to being bored. He was lying on his back, floating on the water, enjoying his time in the different atmosphere.

Because in two days they’d be back on the campus, where everybody was always looking at him, always watching him. Where everybody knew him and where he wasn’t somebody he’d intended to be. He enjoyed being only with his friends and this time he was planning to enjoy these two days at the lake. And he was, until he felt a hand pushing him down.

Next thing he knew he was choking on water in his nostrils and mouth, before he finally resurfaced again and was about to beat the shit out of the culprit. However, when he saw the angelic heart shaped smile of Do Kyungsoo, he reconsidered.

“This is…” he raised a hand to wipe the water away from his eyes. “…playing dirty.”

“You’d know that.”

“You’re still here.” Kai noted instead and looked around the lake – only Chen and Lay were still messing around at the shore. And then it was only him and Kyungsoo in the deeper part of it.

“I like water,” the shorter one shrugged, sprawling himself out on the water the same way Kai had been lying just seconds ago. And he had half of a mind to push Kyungsoo down and make him suffer the same way he’d made him suffer, but he didn’t. Instead, he decided that teasing wouldn’t harm anybody. Besides, it would be fun.

“Oh I know. Although I couldn’t see much from that black T-shirt back then it was obvious that you enjoyed being wet.” He had been right – the way Kyungsoo lost balance and got his face underwater for a second surely was entertaining. He barely contained his victorious smirk. “But it’s OK. I got to see more than enough today.”

 “Pervert.”

But before he could respond a call from the shore caused both of them to turn their heads towards the beach.

“YAH! Pass me the ball!” Chen screamed and both him and Kyungsoo looked around, searching for the multicolored floating item. While messing around the beach ball had flown in their direction. But before Kai could react, Kyungsoo had already turned around and had gotten hold of it, throwing it towards the pair of guys at the front of the lake.

Kai’s eyes however, moved on another thing that surfaced as Kyungsoo leaned down to grab the ball – he smirked again before he brought his hands down to grab Kyungsoo’s waist just as the ball had been already thrown and pull him back towards himself, the soft globes of his ass colliding with Kai’s pelvis. A little, adorable squeak left Kyungsoo’s lips, causing the younger one to grin to himself.

“Really _, really_ more than enough.” He whispered and immediately felt the shorter one in his grasp stiffen, without moving. He wasn’t moving, which also mean that he wasn’t moving away, bodies still pressed tightly next to each other underwater.

This was not good, Kai knew, he was going to get aroused and then he’d have ten morons out there making fun of him. But he couldn’t care less, because Kyungsoo’s legs were somehow entangled with his, his ass still pressed against his crotch. And damn, wasn’t that something Kai enjoyed. Maybe even a tad too much.

“Um…” he heard Kyungsoo utter after a little while. “They will see us.”

And Kai felt like laughing again, but instead, he let go of Kyungsoo’s waist and waited for him to turn around, before raising an eyebrow.

“Then let’s go deeper in the lake?”

“And do what?” Kyungsoo squinted his eyes at him and Kai could only smirk, hands crossing in front of his chest.

“I don’t know. What do you suggest?”

Kyungsoo was staring at him when he looked down and he was staring at him with some sort of conviction. His gaze seemed dark, when his eyes probably involuntarily moved down to his lips, to his shoulders, then somehow distantly towards the water that was after that blocking the view.

And Kai’s breath hitched when he felt unsure fingertips grazing the skin on his abdominal muscles and for a moment he thought that this could be some sort of seaweed but only one look at Kyungsoo and the little smirk on his own plump lips hinted him that he hadn’t been wrong. As if looking at him gave him more assurance, the touch became harder, and the hand slid down to the pelvic muscle.

“Is this your suggestion?” Kai questioned, voice somehow dull, hoarse. And Kyungsoo looked up again, eyes wide, seemingly innocent. And the football captain couldn’t stop himself from raising a hand above the water.

Kyungsoo coughed when the water the taller one had sprawled in his direction hit his face and his hands immediately retreated back to his own face to protect his eyes from the drops of water.

“Hey what are you- _ah!_ ” a gasp escaped Kyungsoo’s throat when Kai slid his leg between Kyungsoo’s, bringing the other one down on his thigh, pressing his crotch through the swimming trunks to his leg. “What are you doing?!”

“Suggesting,” Kai shrugged, pulling his upper body back, but staying entangled with Kyungsoo underwater. “They shouldn’t see us, right?”

“Kai, this is not right…”

“What exactly?” the younger one smiled innocently and got himself a glare from Kyungsoo, but this wasn’t a warning glare. This was more like a daring glare. And Kai felt something coiling in the lower pits of his stomach.

 _Excitement_.

So when his fingers dug into Kyungsoo’s skin and he felt the latter’s hands finally encircling his arms, he wasn’t surprised. Instead, he kept the eye contact as he slid his leg forward and closer to his boyfriend’s body. Kyungsoo’s eyes rolled back because of the friction Kai had created when he grinded his leg against Kyungsoo’s crotch.

And although the stimulation wasn’t affecting it in any direct way he still felt getting hot, because of the face Kyungsoo made most probably – head thrown back, eyes half lidded and lips parted to release a quiet moan.

Kai shot a look towards the shore to see if somebody was looking in their direction, and fortunately there wasn’t anybody who seemed to be paying attention to them. Chen and Lay were getting out of the water.

So when the football captain looked back to Kyungsoo and pulled his leg back up against his crotch, feeling some faint hardness forming there, he smiled, once again splashing water towards him.

Kyungsoo turned his face to the side, biting his lower lip and Kai wanted to protest and take that for himself – to bite it instead of the shorter one, but he had to remind himself that the rest of the football team was just meters away from them.

“Stop it.” Kyungsoo uttered, eyes flicking towards the shore. “They will see…”

“But it’s fun.” Kai’s smirk was devious when he proceeded to pull their lower bodies together, grinding their fronts into each other. He heard Kyungsoo gasping for air and he felt his own breath hitching.

He felt the shorter one’s fingers digging into his biceps as his own grip on his waist tightened. He stared at Kyungsoo and at the round, big eyes, having absolutely no thoughts running through his mind. He wasn’t thinking. There was nothing to think about, actually, except for that look in Kyungsoo’s eyes and his body so close to his. So close.

“HEY!”

Before he could react Kyungsoo had turned around, twisted his way out of his arms and away from his body, a look of utter shock crossing his face for barely a second.

Kai felt like cursing, like throwing something towards Chanyeol who was waving his hand at them, a towel draped over his shoulders; throwing something at Chanyeol who’d just burst his little bubble of happiness.

“IT’S GETTING LATE,” the giant’s voice echoed around the forest and Kai finally noted that the sun really had set, the color of the sky a dark orange. “WE ARE GOING TO START THE FIRE!”

And after he announced that, Chanyeol turned his back to them and Kai saw the way Kyungsoo breathed out and his shoulders slumped a little.

“That was close.” He heard him whisper and could only swim up to him, a smile on his lips.

“It’s OK.” He managed to say quietly. “Next time they won’t be around.”

And after having the pleasure to see shock run through Do Kyungsoo’s features for the second time in only a minute, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

Then with one swift movement he sent a rain of droplets of water towards Kyungsoo, setting off towards the beach as the other one was distracted with wiping the water off his face.

“Loser has to cook breakfast!”

* * *

The sparks coming out form the fire were entertaining Kyungsoo and at some point of the evening he found himself staring at that instead of paying attention to the guys around.

It was loud – he couldn’t expect nothing less from twelve guys gathered together in the same place. But although it was loud, it was also really nice – after they’d come out of the water he finally realized that up here it had become a little colder. So sitting next to the fire felt good.

What felt even better was feeling Kai sitting next to him, their hands touching, as each of them reached out to get their marshmallows closer to the fire.

It wasn’t exactly a fest, but the sandwiches and burnt marshmallows were better than he’d expected. Or maybe it was probably the cheerful atmosphere from having friends at the same place.

“This would have looked really cool on Instagram, though…” Kyungsoo almost chuckled when Tao whined again. A quick glance at Kai, whose expression remained the same – he didn’t seem like he’d back down. Tao wasn’t going to receive his phone back anytime soon.

“What are we going to do now?”

“We can go to sleep…” Suho suggested and only got a couple of snorts and a few sarcastic remarks. “Or we could not, it’s OK. Scary stories?”

“And have Tao staying up all night whining to me?!” Kris mused. “Absolutely not.”

“Hey!” the younger one protested. “I want scary stories!”

Kyungsoo’s eyes were flickering between the arguing guys, but what soon caught his attention was that he felt a certain something…and when he looked up he sighed out. Kai had been staring at him, chewing lazily on his marshmallow.

“I think we need more woods for the fire, it’s starting to burn out.” He muttered and Kyungsoo looked at him, about to ask something, or just to point out that the fire was perfectly fine, but Lay interrupted him.

“I can go get some woods.”

“No. It’s dark and you’re Lay.” Kai shut him up. “You’re staying here. Me and Kyungsoo will go, while you guys decide what we can do after that.”

And before even comprehending the situation, the shorter one was being pulled up. Nobody seemed to mind the two of them leaving for a bit, or probably they didn’t even notice, because their arguing was becoming more and more heated.

And in the meantime, as they finally reached the first line of trees in the forest, Kyungsoo let the sleeves of his sweater fall over his hands as he looked up.

“This is…um…this is not the later you meant, right?” he heard his own voice shaking and felt his heart skipping a beat when Kai stared at him quizzically. “I mean…uh…we’re in a forest and that’s kind of…gross?”

“Oh… _oh!_ Oh, God, no!” Kai laughed out loud after probably finally realizing what Kyungsoo meant. “I just really wanted to get away from them for a second.”

“Oh…” Kyungsoo could feel his face burning. “What happened with the bonding time?”

“Well, we’re bonding right now, aren’t we?”

“Are we?”

“Well, we could be.” Kai chuckled out and Kyungsoo once again stopped in his spot, averting his eyes from the younger and towards the ground.

“We told them we were here for woods. It would be a good idea to gather something, don’t you think?”

“Later.”

Kyungsoo didn’t expect the football captain to approach him so quickly, to push him against the tree and to bring their lips together in a very needy manner.

And he didn’t expect himself to respond just as hotly, burying his hands in Kai’s hair, pulling him closer.

There was a sweet trace from the marshmallows on their  lips and that only made it more enjoyable, Kyungsoo realized. Especially when their tongues collided and he felt that sweetness.

He didn’t expect any of this to have happened, but there they were – making out in the middle of the night in the forest while their friends were waiting for them to bring back woods for the fire. And there was just something exciting about it.

Kyungsoo leaned his forehead against Kai’s to break the kiss and to finally catch his breath. Foreheads touching, lips only an inch away from each other, Kyungsoo opened his eyes and stared at Kai’s brown orbs.

“This…why?”

“Why?” the younger one smiled and his breath tickled Kyungsoo’s skin. “Because you’re driving me crazy.”

* * *

“KRIS MAKE THEM SHUT UP OR ELSE-“ Kai stood up in his sleeping abg and tried to glare a hole through the fabric of their tent towards the direction of the noise. He heard people’s stifled giggling, before a loud thud and then Kris’ voice.

“OKAY.”

He slumped back on the ground and closed his eyes for a second, turning his head to Baekhyun, who was slyly smiling at him.

“And you. If I heard you and Chanyeol even moving closer to each other…I’m kicking you out of the tent.”

“What? This is so damn unfair…so you and Kyungsoo can frickle frack, but I can’t even touch my boyfriend?!”

Kai’s eyes widened for a second, but before he could reply, Kyungsoo had reached out over him to hit Baekhyun’s shoulder. And judging by the wincing, that hadn’t been a light hit. Still, Kai was unable to move until the center got off him and back in his sleeping back.

“Fanatic.” Baekhyun muttered and Kai could swear that Chanyeol’s giggling from beside them was making the tent shake. “Whatever...GOOD NIGHT MORONS!”

Kai was just about to let out another curse, but Chen’s scream of a reply echoed in the forest as well and he just gave up. And he had to remind himself more than once that he’d brought all of them here and that it wasn’t their fault that he didn’t have one separate tent for him and Kyungsoo…if only…

However, when he felt a tinier hand rubbing his hand reassuringly he let out a sigh of relief and turned his head to Kyungsoo, who was watching him with a little smile on his lips. A small, genuine smile.

“Good night,” he barely mouthed but Kai understood him and nodded, then turned to the side, facing Kyungsoo, back to Baekhyun and Chanyeol who were already holding each other, although he’d given them clear instructions only a minute earlier.

Running a hand up to Kyungsoo’s face to brush away the strand of hair that was hading his eyes, he sighed out once again. In the end, he’d made this. He’d gathered them all and although he was getting annoyed at little things, he enjoyed this. And this…he enjoyed this most.

“Good night.”

* * *

Kyungsoo wasn’t feeling comfortable – he felt hot in his sweater and he felt something heavy on his side, but it was way too early and way too bright for him to open his eyes and get up. And he was here to take a rest from everything.

However, with more and more time passing by, with the sun’s light warming the inside of their tent and with the heaviness on his side becoming more and more noticeable, he finally made himself lift his eyelids.

At first he couldn’t see anything, so he squinted his eyes against the light, but eventually he got used to it.

It took him a few seconds to remember where he was and why he was there. And another few to see a buried head in the crook of his neck – he could only see brown hair, the hand and leg of said person thrown over his body.

Then he smiled sleepily. No wonder it was hot – Jongin was breathing in his neck, he was wearing a sweater and he was wrapped all over him. And it was endearing, no matter how he looked at it. So instead of trying to get out, he raised his hand and ran it up Jongin’s hand, careful enough not to wake him up, until he reached his hair – the only thing he could see from him in that position. He took a  little strand of the mess that it was that early in the morning and played with it for a little while, before finally setting his hand down, pulling the other one’s face closer.

Being that close to him after yesterday, it felt good. Kyungsoo loved it, so he sighed out in content, placing his chin on top of Jongin’s head.

He could hear rustling from outside, he could hear zippers of tents going up and down, people whispering, so he assumed some of the boys were already up. But he didn’t mind. Instead, he stood like that, holding Jongin while he was holding him, eyes closed, enjoying the lazy morning.

He had nowhere to rush for – no classes, no exams, no work, no training. Only this. Finally he had some time for himself and this was the best way he could spend it.

And he felt like he was drifting back to sleep, when the zipper of their tent went down and his eyes shot open. A head with messy hair appeared through the opening and Kyungsoo blinked a few times.

“Jongin?!” he questioned and he only blinked back as a response, eyes darting towards the person in Kyungsoo’s arms just in the same time Kyungsoo looked down in shock. He immediately pulled back lightly and the strands of brown hair moved to the side and his breath hitched. “Oh god… _Oh my fucking god_ …”

He just couldn’t accept it, that the person he’d been cuddling with was…

“Baekhyun, get your hands off me right now, you little bacillus, DO YOU HEAR ME?! _Get off me!_ ”

And Kyungsoo had never imagined that he could get up from bed so quickly, but he managed to do that, getting away from Baekhyun as fast as possible, waking up the latter in the process. He couldn’t stop himself from frowning deeply.

Just as he’d been thinking that this was Kai, that they were waking up together, holding each other so tightly…

“What the fuck do you want so early in the morning?” Baekhyun rasped and Kyungsoo felt another wave of rage rising within him.

And it wasn’t even noon yet.

At least one thing was good – Kai seemed to be entertained by his misery, because he was laughing his ass off on the side of the tent. So with a heavy sigh, Kyungsoo glared at Baekhyun one last time, before getting out of the tent. He was only going to tolerate it once – only because the first proper thing he’d seen in this morning was his boyfriends cheerful smile.

And when he got out, probably all messy, he scanned the place around the tents – Suho, Kai, Xiumin and Luhan were up, all of them already aware of what had happened. Probably they’d peeked as soon as he started hissing. But they were smirking tauntingly in his direction and he could only frown at them.

“Well…good morning…” Kai tried but Kyungsoo only shot him a glare because he could hear the barely contained laughter. “Was Baekhyun’s hug comfortable?”

And Kyungsoo almost winced again, because really he’d been comfortable and damn it, he had thought that it was Jongin. He wanted to slap himself. But instead, he looked up, face expressionless, as he whispered his response.

“I’d prefer yours, but since you’re being an ass, I’m going to switch with Chen tonight.”

He had the pleasure to see Kai’s face dropping.

“What? No! You can’t be serious!” he whined. “You can’t do this to me! You can’t leave me in a tent with Baekhyun, Chanyeol AND Chen!”

Kyungsoo leaned forward, tapping his boyfriend’s cheek.

“This is bonding time, captain! You have to get closer with everybody!”

“Yes, but you _can’t_ do this!”

He smiled.

“Watch me.”

* * *

Yeah,hmmm,that's the second part of the previous chapter :) I'm sorry it took so long to upload it, but I added some stuff, removed others and had to re-read it all and I am just lazy eh...

Anyway, thank you! Please comment and tell me what you think! ^^

Until next time :)


	12. -11-

1 1

“OKAY EVERYBODY GET UP WE ARE GOING TO TRAIN!”

“What?” Kris only raised his head a little and gave Kai a really amused and, in the same time, annoyed glance. “Train? No.”

“Get your lazy ass up right now, Wu Yifan!”

“But why are we going to train? I thought this was a camping trip to have fun and to rest. I need my rest, Kim Jongin.”

“This is a camping trip to build better teamwork. We’re going to train, but we’re also going to have fun, right?” Suho smiled towards Kai with that look that said ‘You better agree’ and the captain only raised his eyebrows. As if he was going to do that.

“Um. No. We’re going to train and we’re going to train _hard_. And then you’re free to have fun.”

“You’re such an ass, really,” Baekhyun detached himself from Chanyeol and the captain’s eyes switched to him. “How exactly are we going to train here? There is no field, we have no ball and we have no equipment.”

This was the moment Kai’s usual snobby and smug smirk surfaced on his lips, as his eyes skipped through all the amused players in front of him.

“Who said we’re going to train football?”

* * *

Kyungsoo was already sweating by the time they reached the other part of the lake, where the cliffs were starting. He was skeptical about this, like most of the other guys on the team – Kai couldn’t have possibly expected it from them to really go climbing. Nobody believed him until he gave out the equipment and with a charming smile explained that it was a ‘win-win situation’ because they ‘trained their bodies’ but also their teamwork would improve because if they ‘let anybody accidentally fall from the cliffs and kill himself he’d personally push the people who could have offered him help’.

_Extremely motivating_ , Kyungsoo was noting with a remark, but it was working nonetheless. After all, nobody wanted to fall off a pile of rocks on other rocks. Now that would hurt. They were bound to help each other.

He also wasn’t that scared, actually. The route didn’t seem that hard, besides they had equipment. He had yet to question Jongin where he’d taken it from and how he’d came up with the idea for this, but then he reminded himself that he was still angry at him for this morning and instead continued climbing up right beside Tao.

“And to think I could have….been in my dorm…sleeping.”

“It’s not that bad…” Kyungsoo tried and the younger one shot him a devastated look.

“It isn’t. Except for the fact that I could break my spine if my hand slips. Oh, and also the insects? Charming.”

“You’re complaining way too much.” Kyungsoo chuckled out quietly, pushing himself up. He then turned to Tao who seemed to be struggling with the sharper turn and he reached out towards him, hand sprawled out for the younger one to take it. “Come on! Can’t let you break your spine, can I?”

And maybe now Kyungsoo was seeing what Jongin had meant with teambuilding. He pulled the Chinese student up, eyes darting to look at the situation beside them. Xiumin and Luhan seemed to be messing around with Kris, but they helped him nonetheless. Chanyeol was pushing Sehun up. Jongin was talking and laughing with Chen and Baekhyun. And a little below them Suho and Lay were holding each other, one of them looking slightly dazed and the other one refusing to look down. And Kyungsoo could once again simply look around and pat Tao’s back when the younger one finally climbed and stood proudly on the wider part of the rocks next to him, a small smile on his lips.

Yes, they could build teamwork. But how would that help them during a football match where people were pushing at each other, cursing, running around and trying to throw a ball in a drawn area on the ground. He wasn’t sure, but if Jongin had proven something to him ever since they officially met for the first time it was that he was a great captain of that team.

He knew how to separate private life from work, if Kyungsoo could call the team work. He knew what was the best for them as a team and he was doing it. And for that, Kyungsoo admired him even more. As if his body hadn’t been enough, _tch_ …

“Okay, but I have another question.” Sehun raised a hand and looked around – firstly up the cliff to check how much they had left to climb, then down, towards the lake and the fields. “How are we going to go back? There’s no way in hell I am taking that route down.”

“It’s OK.” Jongin grinned when he helped Yixing pull Suho up. “There’s a path from the top back to the camp.”

And there was a moment of silence, in which all the players looked at the captain, disbelief written all over their faces. Kyungsoo was no exception.

“You mean….to tell me…that we could have just walked through the forest to reach that dumb top of the cliffs?” Sehun asked and his voice sounded somewhat low, dangerous. And Kyungsoo was feeling him. Oh wasn’t he feeling him. He was pretty sure that once they were on secure ground and not in the middle of a cliff Jongin would be in some deep shit.

A part of him was starting to feel compassion at the sight of all dirty looks the boys were directing towards his boyfriend. Another part, though, the evil and prideful one that prevailed, made him simply join in with the guys. He was pretty sure that the look on hi face was judgmental and the only confirmation he got was Jongin gulping as their eyes met.

It kind of felt satisfactory although he was barely feeling his fingers.

* * *

 

The path really was convenient and it was all downhill so that was pretty cool and Kyungsoo didn’t hear Tao complaining as much as before. He was standing away from Jongin, because his acting game would be pretty damn weak if he gave up on his task after only a few hours. Besides, new things were happening and he was impressed by the turn of events.

He hadn’t expected the receiving front Kris to stand next to him and discuss lectures and professors with him. He really didn’t think him and Kris were similar in character, and obviously he hadn’t been wrong – they had quite different views, but their conversation wasn’t dying out anyway and it felt weird, but nice.

Later it was Luhan who joined them and started talking about soccer, which caught Kyungsoo off guard, because, after all, they were a football team. He hadn’t expected to hear Luhan talking with such passion about it and he definitely hadn’t expected Sehun to join them, rolling his eyes and snorting, before announcing that he was hungry. Somehow the conversation twisted to cooking and all of them looked strangely interested when Kyungsoo said that he could try preparing something for lunch on the gas stove Suho had brought.

All in all, Kyungsoo found it weird that after one day away from civilization the guys were opening up and actually communicating with him and with each other. Or probably it was just because Kai had confiscated all mobile phones, but it was happening anyway and it wasn’t awkward or weird. In fact, it was fun to explore them all in a new way – not just to look at them during practice, finding out more about their skills. It was good getting to know them as people and it was making the new center of the team excited.

And Jongin wasn’t even trying to join in their conversation, maybe because he was too preoccupied with Chen , Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s bickering from behind them, but once Kyungsoo threw him a look and saw the somehow blank, dazed expression, he almost laughed. Because when their eyes met, Jongin flicked his head in the three loud players’ direction and looked at his boyfriend with an almost pleading look. And Kyungsoo, feeling that satisfaction again, only smirked in return, before turning back to Kris and Sehun, who were arguing about food.

And actually the day wasn’t that bad – by the time they reached their camp again it was already the late afternoon, the perfect time for them to start setting up the fire and to start preparing for the evening. So when they eventually settled there and everybody started doing something, Kyungsoo burdened with the task to make something eatable from the canned food Suho and Kris had bought, he finally breathed out and closed his eyes for a second. It was nice here, different from the hectic life on campus. Kyungsoo was opening the next can with beans when somebody passed beside him and just in time he reached out and pulled them back.

“If you expect me to help with cooking I’m warning you from now that it will either start a fire or it will break your teeth.” Chen mused and Kyungsoo only rolled his eyes, shooting a gaze towards the team captain who was fastening the tents.

“Listen, do you mind switching tents tonight?”

“What?” the older one grinned. “Why?”

“I just feel the need to sleep in the same tent as Xiumin.”

“Suho won’t let you you two bang. Trust me, I’ve tried.” Chen crossed his arms in front of his chest just when Kyungsoo snorted. “Now answer. Why? Is it because of what happened today?”

“Well, partly.” Kyungsoo whispered back, before his eyes blinked mischievously and he stared back up. “Oh come on, don’t you want to agitate Kai?”

Kyungsoo loved the expression on Chen’s face – he seemed like he was somehow skeptic, but also like he was considering it.

“Come on,” Kyungsoo urged with a tempting tone. “With Baekhyun and Chanyeol...we can also wake up early and drag his mattress in the lake…”

“Are you trying to trick me?”

“I swear, if I was trying to trick you I would have been subtle about it. I just don’t want to wake up with Baekhyun drooling on me ever again.”

And after a little more staring, narrowed eyes and raised eyebrows, Chen eventually shrugged.

“Okay. Whatever. But I am warning you, you really can’t bang Xiumin. Suho is boring and he wears a sleeping mask and Yixing is clingy and cuddly too.”

But those were just details for Kyungsoo who was not internally grinning, because in the end he’d get some sort of small revenge. But as Chen skipped gleefully away, he directed his head back to the small stove and he let the curse slide off his tongue easily.

He may or he may not have forgotten that this thing was working with fire, too and he may or may not have forgotten that fire was damaging food…

He stopped it with a deep sigh and shook his head.

And if anything, Kyungsoo wasn’t going to discriminate. Crackers were also a nice food they could eat for dinner.

* * *

The air this evening was somehow chillier than last night and Jongin would have been grateful for all the members of the team sitting close to each other.

He could have been if Kyungsoo hadn’t been sitting on the opposite side of the fire.

Thus now, with Tao and Luhan from both his sides, he was grumpily holding onto the crackers in his hand, quite grudgefully sinking his teeth in them, eyes following every movement of his boyfriend from above the fire.

It seemed kind of unfair that Kyungsoo was laughing there with Suho and Xiumin, somehow unfair that his shoulders were brushing against theirs and not his. So unfair…

And he would have continued sulking if it wasn’t for Chanyeol who stomped his feet rather loudly, while finishing his beer. Then he grinned.

“Guys we’ve been here for almost two days. It is time to finally play Truth or Dare.”

“Chanyeol, no.” Jongin raised his eyebrows because the person who was talking was Kyungsoo and he had been the last one he would have expected to reply to the giant. “Last time we played Truth or Dare it was awkward.”

“What do you mean awkward?” Chen exploded, one finger accusingly pointing towards the captain as the runner stared at Kyungsoo with widened in shock and probably offence eyes. “You two totally enjoyed it!”

“But it was awkward!” Kyungsoo replied and Jongin could only squint his eyes at him and see that once again he wasn’t looking at him. So he set his jaw and gulped down the remaining beer in his own bottle, before setting it down.

“I’m down for it.” He announced and enjoyed the priceless look of terror on his boyfriend’s face. “It sounds fun.”

“Then it’s settled.” Chanyeol slyly smirked, throwing his empty beer bottle aside. “Good. Sehun, truth or dare?”

“Mm…” the youngest one hesitated for a second. “Truth.”

“Fine. Have you ever taken it up the ass?”

Jongin raised his eyebrows, slightly intrigued as he looked towards Sehun, who shrugged.

“No. I never bottom.”

And as soon as the words were spoken Luhan beside him shifted and Kai could swear to God that he heard the older one muttering ‘we’ll see about that’ and he fought hard to stifle his chuckle. He managed to do it just in time to see Sehun turning towards Kyungsoo.

“So, Kyungsoo? Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Have _you_ ever taken it up the ass?” Sehun smirked and Jongin concentrated. In the same time, Chanyeol protested that they couldn’t simply steal his question, but nobody was paying attention to him. Instead, they were all focusing on Kyungsoo and the way his eyes sunk to the ground and he started fidgeting nervously. Jongin could swear that the shorter one threw a nervous look in his direction.

“No. I’ve never done it this way…”

“This way? What do you mean?” Jongin straightened and suddenly all eyes were on him and Kyungsoo was frowning.

“What the fuck, man, it’s not even your turn to ask questions. Shut up.” Sehun shushed him, before nodding at Kyungsoo. “If you ever feel like exploring you know where to find me.”

“What the hell, Sehun?!” Luhan screeched and Jongin almost growled, but Kyungsoo laughed and his laughter was eerie and cheerful and it made the captain calm down in his seat. He ignored Luhan and Sehun who had started bickering, instead he only paid attention to Kyungsoo who was now staring right at him, as if trying to read his soul.

“Okay, Jongin. Truth or Dare?”

And Jongin did know for a fact that after he’d seen Kyungsoo avoiding him all day long it wouldn’t be the best idea to risk it, but he did anyway. This was a fucked up game, after all.

“Dare.”

And he knew he’d made the wrong choice as soon as the corners of Kyungsoo’s mouth lifted in a smirk and his eyes narrowed lightly.

“Perfect. Go swim in the lake,” and just when the captain was about to strongly object, because it was damn cold, Kyungsoo hit the nail on head. “ _Naked._ ”

And in that moment, as their campfire was surrounded by enthusiastic shouts and taunting jokes, Jongin could only wonder about one single thing.

How could such a small person hide so many different sides in themselves?

And most importantly, why was he liking it so much?

* * *

“I am not letting you see my ass, fuck you.” Jongin grumbled in front of everybody, keeping the towel around his waist and visibly shivering in the chilly air. Kyungsoo didn’t even feel sorry.

Instead, he was grinning in anticipation, as the team captain approached the water and he also laughed out maniacally with the rest of the guys when Jongin set foot in the lake and practically squeaked, because of the temperature of the water. With water reaching his ankles, he turned back, pleading eyes finding Kyungsoo’s.

“You can’t be serious, right?”

“Go on!” Kyungsoo yelled back, his voice echoing around in the forest. Jongin looked like a lost puppy, before he turned back to the water. Kyungsoo could basically see the moment his boyfriend went into ‘fuck it’ mode and he lunged himself forward, throwing off the white towel just before he collided with the water.

It was late and dark and nobody really caught a glimpse of anything, but it was fun nonetheless. Somehow thrilling. And especially entertaining when Jongin’s head emerged from the water and he screamed out.

“Fuck! It’s cold!”

“Is it nice?” Baekhyun teased and received a very polite gesture from Jongin who seemed to want to escape the water already. “It’s OK. It’s only for five minutes!”

And as Kyungsoo was watching, his cheeks already hurting from all the grinning, Luhan leaned down from the side with a mischievous grin.

“Now’s the moment we steal his clothes and run away.”

“Stupid,” Xiumin shushed him from behind. “Where are you going to run? Besides, you’ve seen it all, he wouldn’t care whooping your ass even if he’s naked.”

And Kyungsoo could only laugh out once again, watching Jongin shivering and cursing in the cold lake and a part of him thought it was hilarious, another part – endearing. And the third one was simply evilly nodding and congratulating him. He’d overdone himself, but it felt lighter. This way, Jongin would know not to fuck around with him.

And as he stared, hearing the guys’ ironic comments, but not really listening, he smiled one last time, stepping forward.

“OK. YOU CAN COME OUT NOW BEFORE YOUR BALLS SHRIVEL UP!” the shorter one beckoned and Jongin looked beyond pleased when he started once again moving to the beach, his chest slowly surfacing. But then he abruptly stopped.

“Hey, Kyungsoo! Give me the towel!”

This time, it was Kyungsoo who smirked again – he’d been kind enough to reduce the time from five minutes to two. He simply turned around and patted Chen’s back.

“I think our arrangement for tonight can wait for some other time. Come on, let’s go take out the marshmallows, guys!”

And as all of them retreated from the lake with booming laughter, Kyungsoo noticed something else – he squinted his eyes against Luhan’s arms.

“Is that…Kai’s towel?”

Just when Luhan shone him a wide grin did also their captain’s agitated yell echo in the forest and around the lake.

“I HATE YOU ALL!”

* * *

But later that evening when he entered their tent he noticed the way Kai’s face lightened up and since it was still empty, he used the chance to lean over him and quickly lock their lips together for a quick, innocent kiss.

“I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo uttered and it was Kai’s turn to chuckle out tiredly.

“No, _I’m_ sorry. I should know not to mess with you from now on. You’re no joke.” The taller one muttered quietly and Kyungsoo grinned in the following kiss. When they pulled away, Jongin raised his hand to tuck away a strand of Kyungsoo’s hair. “By the way, thanks for staying here tonight. I thought you’d really leave me with Chen, Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”

“I was going to but I was cruel enough today.”

“Damn right.” Jongin smiled and Kyungsoo looked at him for a few moments – the captain seemed like a boy when he was just smiling happily, when he was calm and collected, when he wasn’t Kai the football team captain, but simply Jongin. “Also, are you really a virgin?”

“Did I say I was a virgin?” the shorter one deadpanned, then pulled back, shrugging. “Let’s just say that during highschool I was on the straight line.”

“Oh…” Kyungsoo watched as Jongin grinned after a few moments. “But so you are a virgin…like…if you consider you and me, hm…doing it, then you’re definitely a virgin.”

“Stop! This is embarrassing.” Kyungsoo tried to move away, but the tent wasn’t big and definitely not wide enough for stuns, so Kai caught his arms anyway, as he pulled him forward.

“It’s not embarrassing. I think it’s cute.” Jognin shrugged. “As long as I’m being careful then it should be alright…”

“Wait, hold up for a second. You’re making plans about this already, but why the hell are you assuming that you’d be on top?!”

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows as Jongin blinked against him a few times, blankly.

“Wait…you…you can’t be serious right now…right?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Kyungsoo wasn’t really offended, he was willing to eventually try that with Jongin someday, he was also willing to bottom even, because Kai was one fine piece of human. But then again… “Why are you automatically assuming I’d be on the receiving end?”

‘Because…”

But Jongin abruptly stopped talking when there was a giggle from the zipper of the tent and when they turned around Baekhyun was watching them with an amused glint in his eyes and Kyungsoo instantly felt the shame and the upcoming storm of comments from his roommate.

“Oops. I think I interrupted an important conversation.”

“A word to anybody and you’re dead meat.” Kyungsoo warned, but his roommate just laughed it off, entering the tent quickly.

“It’s OK. It’s not like you two aren’t obvious enough already. Besides, the other guys went to sleep.”

“Where’s Chanyeol?” Jongin questioned and Baekhyun smiled at him a strained smile, one that said ‘fuck you’.

“Probably jacking off in the woods, because a certain asshole didn’t let us have it our way here. And there’s no way I’m fucking against a tree.”

Kyungsoo scrunched up his nose and very carefully moved closer to Jongin when Chanyeol entered the tent with one of his usual wide smiles, throwing himself on the sleeping bag next to Baekhyun. The two of them were totally ignoring the world, so Kyungsoo allowed himself to look up and to finally snuggle closer to Jongin, fisting the front of his loose T-shirt.

“I swear if you let me hug it out with Baekhyun again…” he barely whispered, but Jongin heard him and his body shook because of his laughter. Next thing Kyungsoo felt was two strong arms encircling his body, pulling him closer to the heat of Jongin’s chest. A face buried itself in his hair and he could swear that he felt a peck.

“I won’t.”

* * *

Kyungsoo was in a very good mood as he was helping Suho gather the blankets from the last tent. Today was their last day here, but it still was good, because Jongin had kept his promise and this morning Kyungsoo woke up with their limbs tangled together and it was just right.

So even though they were going to leave for the campus in a few hours, he was feeling somehow delighted.

“Fucking mosquitoes. I hate them.” Sehun grumbled out, scratching his forearm furiously. Luhan, from the side, nodded darkly.

“Yeah, me too.”

“I guess it’s the blood type. Mosquitoes must love blood type O.”

“What do you mean mosquitoes love blood type O?” Chanyeol raised his eyebrows and Kyungsoo couldn’t believe that his tone was actually defensive. “I am A, but they bit me as well! Look at that! It’s even more than yours!”

“Yeah, they bit on me too,” Kai chided in from the fireplace that he was putting away. “Quite a lot, actually.”

“There was actually a study that mosquitoes really prefer blood type O! I read a whole article about it.” Baekhyun remarked, but his boyfriend sent him a dirty look, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Then the writer of the article must have been blood type O. I’m telling you, they prefer A!”

And Kyungsoo, who was a blood type A himself, took a look down towards his arms and said nothing when he found absolutely no trace from mosquitoes. However, it was entertaining to watch twenty year old men fighting over something so stupid. Especially when Tao stood up quite confidently.

“Actually, it’s AB. Cause you know, our blood contains all other blood types.”

Kyungsoo shook his head when Suho reached out and high-fived the younger one and when Chanyeol started bickering once again. It was somehow entertaining, but also dumb. He looked around and his eyes met with Xiumin’s for a second and he gladly noted that he wasn’t the only one who found this whole thing dumb, yet hilarious – the oldest one seemed like he was on the verge of laughing.

And just because Kyungsoo knew that he wouldn’t be able to stand this stupid quarrel for long before he either snapped at them or started laughing, he scratched the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I’m…I’m going to…um…take a walk, I don’t know.”

Kyungsoo barely raised his eyebrows when nobody reacted to his statement, but instead their conversation only deepened and he couldn’t believe that Suho was actually quoting a biology textbook. It only motivated him to walk away with a faster pace.

He didn’t plan on going deep into the forest, only a little walk around the woods because soon they’d be back to the city where the air was dirty, where everything was loud and where there were a lot of people. And most importantly, responsibilities.

So he closed his eyes for a second and breathed out slowly.

And then he shrieked in horror.

He abruptly turned around when he felt two hands on his hips and as soon as he recognized the puffy lips, the chocolate eyes and the lean body, he brought his fist down to the man’s chest.

“You scared me!”

“Sorry.”

Kyungsoo glared at him, trying to slow down his racing heart, before breathing out again, letting his hand rest on Jongin’s chest because it didn’t really feel bad or awkward and he quite enjoyed being close to him.

He then looked up, eyes meeting with his boyfriend’s.

“So…this trip…did it fulfill your expectations?”

“I don’t know.” The taller one shrugged. “We’ll find out tomorrow at the football field. But if it doesn’t really work out, then I have Taemin to blame.”

“Ah…Taemin…” Kyungsoo mused, the image of Jongin’s friend appearing in his mind. Somehow, he didn’t know how to feel about him. Even though, he smiled. “You have to introduce me to him properly, you know. We have to go out together sometime.”

“Trust me, you don’t want that.”

“Why not?” Kyungsoo furrowed his brows. Did Jongin not want to introduce him to his closest friends? But then again, last time Taemin had approached him first and he didn’t seem weird.

“You know how Baekhyun and Chanyeol are when they’re together, right?”

“Um, horny?”

“No. Idiotic.” Jongin explained, then shrugged. “Well, Taemin’s like them. But worse. He’s also evil. I don’t know. I feel like we should date for at least two more months before I go out with both of you together. I don’t want you breaking up with me.”

“You think I’d break up with you?” Kyungsoo smirked, pulling back a little. “What exactly can Taemin tell me that would make me do that? Now I’m curious.”

But Jongin laughed, even though Kyungsoo may or may not have been serious. He laughed and let his arms finally encircle Kyungsoo’s waist properly, to crash their lower bodies together, foreheads resting against each other.

“I have a lot of secrets.”

“I have a lot of them, too.” Kyungsoo muttered as a response and only saw the edge of Jongin’s smirk.

“I like mysterious people. But I will find out everything about you at some point, baby.”

Kyungsoo looked up for a second when the last word rolled of Jongin’s tongue. He was a bit taken aback – not necessarily negatively. No. It actually sounded quite charming, quite possessive. And for some reason, he liked it. _Loved it_.

“Well I’ll tell you my secrets if you tell me yours first.”

“Here’s one.” Jongin barely whispered, hands raising to cup Kyungsoos face. “I really want to kiss you now.”

And the shorter one felt his heart speeding up again, before he slid his hands down Jongin’s chest.

“And here’s another one,” he whispered back quietly, wide eyes looking up to catch Jongin’s gaze, fixed on his parted lips. “I wouldn’t mind that one bit.”

And just like that, the taller one leaned down and Kyungsoo pushed himself up to press his lips against his boyfriend’s. The pace wasn’t slow – it was a needy kiss, a very provocative one. A kiss that made Kyungsoo slide his hands to Jongin’s abdomen and the younger one to pull the center even closer if that was possible.

Kyungsoo breathed out for a second before once again rising on his tiptoes to run his tongue on Jongin’s lower lip before the younger one engaged them in a fiercer liplock, biting not so lightly on the shorter one’s lower lip, drawing a mewl out of him.

And it felt too damn good, making out in the middle of the forest, forgotten by civilization.

But they forgot a little fact – they weren’t in fact alone in the camp. There were ten more people with them and only when they heard somebody clearing their throat from the side did they remember that small fact.

Kyungsoo immediately pulled away, hand rising up to brush against his mouth as if that would somehow make it less obvious that they’d just been caught furiously kissing each other in the forest. But Tao and Chen in front of them seemed strangely amused.

Chen’s lips were a little lifted and twitching, so Kyungsoo suspected the other one had a lot to say, but probably couldn’t quite process it. But his smirk meant now good, that’s what he knew for sure. Tao, however, looked very pissed, raising an accusing finger in Jongin’s direction.

“How dare you!” he bellowed and to Kyungsoo it sounded almost like he was on the verge of crying. “How could you take my phone away when I could have captured that on camera?! I hate you, Kim Jongin!”

And Kyungsoo only looked to the side, hand still pressed next to his mouth, as he watched the younger one turning towards him with a sheepish grin.

Well, there they go, there was no way to keep it a secret now…

* * *

Oooh God, what am I even doing now....

Thank you guys for all the comments, for all the support! I really appreciate that! ^^ THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

Also ahahha, credit for the mosquito fight to EXO's Suho, SHINee's Minho, SuJu's Kyuhyun and CN Blue's Jonghyun...geniuses, thank you! (I basically stole it from Fluttering India, ep 1)


	13. -12-

1 2

 

Kai knew that he had to go say ‘thanks’ to Taemin.

After all, if it weren’t for his best friend, now he wouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the field, watching his players actually work efficiently with a small grin on his face. He didn’t exactly know how two days and a half camping had helped, but obviously the football players were thinking properly and for the first time in a long time he was seeing some real teamwork.

He was seeing it in the way the players didn’t have to shout out names to let the others know whom the ball would fly to. He was seeing it in the way silent looks were being exchanged and tactics were being changed. He was seeing it in the way victorious screams were echoing around when they’d manage to perform something new.

He was also seeing the way everybody was taking part of it – the players were somehow united and Kyungsoo was also a part of this unity and the whole thing was making the team captain simply smile – mostly because of pride.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” he asked Suho and the coach assistant nodded just as gleefully.

“It is. I haven’t seen them work with so much pleasure since…well, since Moonkyu transferred.”

“Whatever,” Kai interrupted. “We have Kyungsoo now.”

“Of course we do,” Suho shut the game book, looking up with a smile that was on the border between friendly and teasing. “And speaking of which, how did that happen?”

“You were on the tryouts with me and you helped me and the coach choose him.”

Kai had known that he would be able to dodge the question, because Suho rolled his eyes and he pushed him not so lightly.

“Don’t pretend you don’t understand what I’m asking!”

“What if I really don’t?”

“Then you really are a dumbass.” Suho frowned. “Oh come on! You can tell me!”

“Why are you so nosy?” Kai graced the older one with a judging look, before twisting his arms in front of his chest. “Do I have to explain how two people start liking each other? You see somebody, they look hella fine, then you want to know more about them and you find out their personality is also hella fine. See? You need no master degree to know that.”

“Idiot.” Suho mumbled and Kai could feel the dirty look. He sure as hell wasn’t going to give more information to his overly annoying friends. It was more than enough that everybody knew now and he was sure that Kyungsoo hadn’t wanted that. “So…ever since Baekhyun said you two were going to fuck in their room…?”

“Fucking hell…” Kai sighed out and closed his eyes for a moment. “Suho, you better shut up right now before I start talking about you and Kris, OK?”

The older one said nothing more, but there was a mysterious smile on his lips as he opened the book once again and tapped the pen on it.

And Kai could only shake his head and once again look back towards the players. He wasn’t bothered by it, honestly, but it wasn’t only him in this relationship. He didn’t know how Kyungsoo felt about it and he made a mental note to ask him later about it. But now all he could think about was that even if they knew, even if they teased them, it wouldn’t be bad – after all, they were friends.

* * *

Kyungsoo was starting to feel small from all the looks he was receiving – mostly jealous ones. Or judging. Or simply hateful. He was seeing it on every student’s face as he was passing by, that they could not understand and could not probably tolerate it. So feeling all these glances on himself as he was simply trying to get his lunch was kind of overwhelming.

He sighed out and barely looked up from the tray, heading for the direction of the table that the football team used. Only there could he finally forget about the stares for a little while, even though he could still feel them burning holes in the back of his head.

“Just ignore them,” Baekhyun leaned in to whisper in his ear at some point and Kyungsoo’s stomach flipped. Of course Baekhyun would notice something was off. “They’ll get used to it at some point.”

“And when will that happen? Cause I really want to eat my lunch in peace.”

“Be patient.” Baekhyun tapped his back, a dazed expression on his face. “And why don’t we tell Kai about it? Maybe he’ll help…”

“Don’t tell him.” Kyungsoo shook his head, nose scrunching up. “It’s not his fault.”

“Well, actually it is exactl-“

“Baekhyun…just don’t tell him.”

And so he continued eating his meal in silence, not really paying attention to the debates on their table about the game plan and about last year’s finals.

And he was trying to just sit in his place, ignore the world, and it was actually kind of working until he heard a familiar voice and a low ‘move’, before he felt Baekhyun sliding away from him towards Chanyeol. But only seconds later another person had taken his place – all clad in black clothing, a very tired expression on his face. All worries of Kyungsoo vanished as he saw Kai’s exhausted figure and furrowed brows.

“Are you alright?” his hand flinched as he was about to reach out to him, but he stopped himself. His boyfriend, however, sighed out and reached out to grab a fry from his tray.

“Yeah. Just tired. I had to go to the principal’s office.”

“What?” Kyungsoo’s back straightened and he felt his small smile drop. He also heard the conversation on the table dying out. “Why? Did you get in trouble?”

“No, it’s not that.” His boyfriend rolled his eyes, setting his bag down. “It was all about the upcoming game. It’s not on our field. I had to meet him and arrange the transportation with him.”

Kyungsoo heard a few understanding hums and soon his playmates were getting back to their own conversations. However, this would be something new to him, so he didn’t look away.

“And?”

“And we’ll probably be taking one of the school’s busses. The coach will drive.”

The prospect seemed kind of too ordinary to Kyungsoo. However, the thing itself was nowhere near that – he knew that with the team around even the mot boring ride could become interesting.

But this was all interesting about their lunch. The rest of it was another half an hour of concentration for Kyungsoo to simply ignore the others. And to simply make sure he avoided Kai’s glance and to move away when his hand moved towards his thigh. To also move towards Chen and Xiumin and join their conversation, which was very coincidentally on the other side of the group from Kai who was being constantly engaged in a serious talk by Suho and his worries about the university bus. 

And Kyungsoo was starting to finally breathe calmly when they got outside of the central part of the campus and they headed towards the stadium. That’s when they weren’t surrounded by students and when he could finally breathe out and finally look up and talk normally without feeling somehow guilty.

He still was talking with the guys, at least something to keep him occupied on the way to the locker rooms. But just in front of the doors he felt a grip on his elbow and looked up in curiosity when Kai dragged him away from the group of players.

“What?”

“Are you avoiding me?”

“No.” Kyungsoo was staring up and trying not to look away from the chocolate eyes, but when he saw an eyebrow raise on his boyfriend’s forehead in disbelief, he sighed out and finally moved his gaze away. “Okay fine. Maybe I did. But it’s not really becau-“

“Kyungsoo…” Kai’s voice was breathy when he laughed a little and the latter just shut up. Instead he looked back to Kai when a hand found its way to his face, cupping his cheek. “Is it because of the others?”

He received no reply from Kyungsoo who was too busy exploring every little line and contour of Jongin’s face. Instead, the football captain sighed out.

“Don’t listen to them, shrimpy.” A quick squint of the eyes. “In the end it’s you and me, right?”

“I guess. But having everybody stare at you all day long could be quite burdensome.” Kyungsoo sighed out, fixing the strap of his bag. “Who even spread this? I thought only the team knew!”

“Well…” Jongin pulled his hand back and rubbed his cheek with it in thought. “Chen might have told a person or two. And Tao might have written about it on SNS…”

“He _what!?_ ”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jongin pulled him closer again and this time Kyungsoo was about to give in, probably because of the small smile on the plump lips of the younger one. They looked so deliciously alluring, so beautiful ... “As I said, it’s only you and me.”

Kyungsoo nodded and Kai’s smile stretched a little, as he looked up and moved a strand of hair away from Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“How about this? After we finish with the training tonight, stay after the guys leave.”

“It’s cold when we’re leaving, Jongin…”

“So what? We have the entire field to ourselves.” The captain smiled brightly, just like a kid. “Only me and you. No other students, no guards, no football players, no caretakers, nobody. Only me, you and the field.”

And probably that was the most burdening part, but Kyungsoo was starting to feel his stomach tighten and his heart flutter, so he could simply smile in response.

“Alright.”

* * *

Right. _Totally_ not suspicious.

It _totally_ didn’t seem weird how only the team captain and the center were slowly folding their clothes, rearranging their bags for the nth time, waiting for the other boys to leave. Baekhyun had given him a toothy grin with a quick ‘Enjoy yourself, kid!’ and had quickly disappeared before Kyungsoo could reach him and slap him.

It was _totally_ unsuspicious when Suho asked Kai if he was going to leave with him to review the tactics and the captain had shaken his head and said that he had, quote, ‘Uuh…work’.

But teasing from this group of people Kyungsoo could accept. Because in the end, even after sarcastic remarks that made both him and Kai narrow their eyes towards the person, even after knowing smiles and gestures, they were eventually left alone and Kyungsoo finally directed his gaze towards the team captain who leaned against the lockers with an agitated sigh.

“Finally.”

And Kyungsoo only smiled, getting up from the bench. He made sure to pull his hoodie on before Jongin grabbed his arm and both of them headed back again towards the field.

At first it didn’t seem any different to Kyungsoo from when he had to come back here after training with the captain every day. At the memory of these past months he squeezed the other one’s arm and then looked again.

This time it was different – he was coming back not to train but to spend some time with Kai. With Jongin. With his boyfriend.

“Let’s sit on the top row!” he looked up towards the sides and the younger one followed his glance, nodding. Climbing the steps up to the last row of seats itself was a tiring thing, but it was definitely worth it for Kyungsoo when he looked around. He could see parts of the parks around the campus and he could see the entire field displayed in front of his eyes.

That same field he had been running laps around just two hours ago, where he was training with the guys every day, preparing for the next round of the college league. But from up here this field looked smaller, he couldn’t properly see the lines on the ground and he crunched up his nose.

“No wonder everybody hates the last row. You can’t see shit from here.”

“We’ll know not to sit on the last row for games then.” The captain smiled, shifting his palm so that he cold entwine his fingers with Kyungsoo’s and that’s when the shorter one remembered that they were indeed here not to watch a game, but just to be together.

“It’s quiet.” Kyungsoo noted and mustered up the courage to lean his head on Jongin’s shoulder. The taller one didn’t seem like he minded it, although Kyugnsoo could feel his body tense up for a second But only a moment later there was an arm encircling him and pulling him closer on the stadium seats, making it more comfortable for both of them. Kyungsoo could only smile and hide his face in the crook of Kai’s neck.

“It is. But it’s good like this.” Jongin sighed out. “This is actually always one of the few peaceful places around the campus when you need it at this hour.”

“It’s almost midnight,” Kyungsoo almost giggled. “Why’d you need a peaceful place around that hour?”

“You live with Baekhyun. You should know that batter than me.”

Kyungsoo once again simply smiled in the other’s hug and then closed his eyes. He was tired. It had been a long day. After all, ignoring people all day long and then three hours of football on top of that weren’t what he’d call normal. So he let himself enjoy this moment as much as he could.

And Jongin seemed to be on the same wavelength, because he leaned his head on top of Kyungsoo’s and both of them simply stood like this, in comfortable silence, until Jongin rubbed his chin against Kyungsoo’s head.

“You said you wanted to meet my friends…”

Kyungsoo’s eyes opened and he looked up but couldn’t see his boyfriend’s expression. So he stood silent for a moment, before nodding lightly.

“Yeah.”

“Well I still am really scared of what might happen cause they’re idiots, but if you can deal with the team then it should be alright…”

Before Kyungsoo himself knew it, he was straightening in his seat, eyes locking with Kai’s.

“You mean we’ll all meet?”

“Well, we could…I mean, it would be nice if you knew my friends and if they knew you…as…my boyfriend?”

Jongin wasn’t looking at him directly and Kyungsoo, for some reason, found this adorable. He couldn’t stop the wide grin as he reached out and turned Kai’s face towards himself.

“Thank you.”

Kyungsoo pushed himself up a little to seal their lips together in a simple kiss, that made him feel lightheaded under the chilly air of the evening. And it was Kai who pulled away first, the confident look back in his eyes.

“That means that I want to meet your friends. Or at least, the closest ones…it would be nice, too.”

“That won’t happen.” Kyungsoo replied and Kai momentarily frowned.

“Why not? Are you...ashamed or something?”

“Of what? You? Silly.” The center laughed and once again reached up to kiss his boyfriend full on the lips. “You know them already. And there’s no way in hell I am only going out with you, Chanyeol and Baekhyun.”

“Chanyeol and Baekhyun are your closest friends?” Kai seemed somehow entertained, as he let Kyungsoo snuggle closer. “I’m sorry, but that’s so sad…”

Kyungsoo laughed gleefully, resting his head on Kai’s chest again and feeling nothing but freedom and happiness in this exact moment.

“Oh, you tell me…”

* * *

It had been a perfect night with a not much talking, a lot of hugging, quite a lot of kissing too and a fair amount of staring. And it had been perfect, like a date, at least to Kyungsoo. Especially the last part where Kai sent him off to the entrance of his dorm building and kissed him goodbye.

And he was grinning happily when he entered his own room and had for a moment for a moment that he had an annoying brat for a roommate. So after the quick inquisition of Byun Baekhyun he finally started preparing for bed, ignoring the comments of the older one that he was boring.

Well, after all, Kyungsoo couldn’t be Baekhyun’s gossip source.

But during his shower a thought started creeping into his mind – he was enjoying everything about his relationship with Jongin. Everything was so damn nice, so damn perfect. And that’s what was troubling Kyungsoo. How could it be so good? Real life didn’t work like that, there had to be something fucked up.

Or maybe he was just falling too hard and too fast. He was getting too attached and at that thought, he frowned. They’ve been dating for a little over a month, but Kyungsoo could definitely say that he liked Kai. A lot. It was probably more than just simple liking. And it was starting to make him feel bothered as he actually got dressed and ready for bed. On the bed across the room, Baekhyun was typing something furiously on his laptop and judging by his goofy smirk he was probably chatting with Chanyeol. Kyungsoo sighed out and leaned back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Only a little more than a month and he was afraid that he was starting to fall in love with the person that Kim Jongin was. And now, at two after midnight, that thought was making him exceptionally worried.

“Baekhyun.” He had to barely mutter but in the silent room, his friend heard him and looked towards him. “What do you think about Romeo and Juliet?”

“What?” the other one sounded confused, not really looking away from his laptop. “What kind of question is that at this hour, Soo…You’re so weird.”

“Can you just answer?”

“I don’t…uh, I don’t fucking know. It’s a tale about the stupidity of youth and shallow lust.”

“Shallow lust?” Kyungsoo sat up in his bed and furrowed his brows in Baekhyun’s direction, feeling his stomach do a flip. “You don’t think it’s a beautiful story about love conquering hatred? You don’t think it teaches people about love?”

“You’ve been hanging around the art department way too much,” Baekhyun typed in something again, before finally turning towards him. “No, I don’t think it is. The dude is seventeen. And she’s like, what? Thirteen? That’s insane. He could be babysitting her, but love? Not really...Oh, and on top of that it happens in three days and six people get killed because of it.”

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes or what happens around, though...” Kyungsoo frowned in thought. “The important part is that love comes out as the greatest weapon of them all, right?”

“So you’re saying that if you knew a guy for three days who killed himself you’d kill yourself, too?”

“No, but-“

“See? I’m right.” Baekhyun grinned and Kyungsoo only frowned, grinding his knees up to his chin.

“You’re talking about Shakespeare’s greatest work, though…”

“ _Fucking goodness, Kyungsoo_!” Baekhyun let out an exasperated groan. “Jongin isn’t seventeen and you aren’t thirteen! On top of that, you’ve known each other for more than three days! And I am more than sure that nobody is dumb enough to start fighting because of you two. Also I know you’re an idiot, but I am pretty sure you wouldn’t kill yourself for him! So chill the fuck out.”

“How…”

“How did I know you were thinking about this?” Baekhyun snorted. “You’re not that great with metaphors. Now simply tell me what you’re worried about and don’t drag poetry into this because I am seriously not in the mood for medieval love affairs.”

Kyungsoo stood silent in his bed, cursing himself mentally for letting Baekhyun see right through him. But he couldn’t blame him – if there was a person who knew him better than he knew himself, then it was his roommate and Kyungsoo might have been complaining because of him many times, but in the end of the day it was Baekhyun who was always there for him. This time didn’t seem to be any different, although it was 2 AM.

“Did Kai do something stupid?”

“No, but-“

“Did _you_ do something stupid?”

“No, I-“

“And did you two fight or something?”

“We didn’t, but-“

“Then I don’t see what you’re so worried about.”

“Well, you see...I’ve been thinking that…I’ve known him for only a little period of time, yet I-…I somehow feel like-“

“Like you love him.” Baekhyun finished instead of him and Kyungsoo flinched at the sound of the word. He could only nod and not look at Baekhyun because he didn’t know what his best friend would think about it. When he did eventually look up because he was too damn curious, however, he saw a knowing smile. “I told you you’re not good with metaphors. You know, you could have simply said ‘Baekhyun, buddy, can I ask you something’ and I would have said ‘Sure, mate, let’s talk’-“

“No, you wouldn’t have said that,” Kyungsoo shook his head and Baekhyun laughed out.

“Yeah. Probably not. But you still could have spared yourself the Romeo and Juliet drama.”

“You’re not going to let me forget about it, are you?”

“Never.” Baekhyun smiled cheekily for a few moments, before running a hand through his hair. “Anyway. I understand what you mean.”

Kyungsoo looked up again and Baekhyun threw his legs off the edge of the bed, turning towards him.

“When I first started dating Channie it was like this too. I was falling in love way too hard and way too fast and I was scared, but look at us now.”

“It’s different.” Kyugnsoo shook his head. “You’ve known Chanyeol for years!”

“What’s different? It’s two people who obviously enjoy having each other around! I see no difference.”

Kyungsoo sighed out and decided that he didn’t want to argue with Baekhyun on this one, but probably something in his strained expression made the older one stand up from the bed and instead sit next to him and push him lightly.

“Hey, Kyungsoo…don’t worry about that. The fact that you acknowledge this is more important. If you really feel like this then you simply shouldn’t let go. It’s that easy. And I am pretty sure he will feel the same way soon enough, if he isn’t already. You could be really…loveable.”

“Shut up.”

Baekhyun laughed again, patting his back.

“It’s OK. And it’s exciting, isn’t it? Feeling like that.”

“It’s scary.”

“Which is exciting!” Baekhyun insisted. “Don’t be afraid. Kai likes you a lot. I mean, when has he ever stayed after practice with somebody to make out on the field, or when has he acted so gushy like he did on the camp? Or when have you seen him almost fucking somebody in their room while their roommate is gone but not really.”

“Byun Baekhyun, for the hundredth time, this wasn’t going to happen!” Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion for a second. “Besides, I’m pretty sure he’s done that before.”

“Okay, well…he probably has so point for you. But I still do think that you shouldn’t worry. He wants to be with you! So let yourself feel however you want. I told you already, he’s not seventeen and you’re not thirteen, so I am pretty sure you two could think properly like adults by now. Besides, I really don’t want you two dying on me in the end…now that would be tragic.”

“It really would be…but…hey!” Kyungsoo’s head snapped up and for the first time this evening his usual urge to hit Byun Baekhyun was bubbling inside of his chest again. “Why the fuck am I Juliet?!”

“Kyungsoo, please…” the wide grin slowly rose on his face and there was nothing from the good in Baekhyun left in that smile. Only deviousness and teasing and annoyance that only best friends possessed. “…who are you trying to fool?”

* * *

Jongin was sitting on the campus with Kyungsoo by his side and discussing ideas for the meeting he had arranged with his friends. He was somehow really excited to introduce them to Kyungsoo and him to them. Somehow really excited in both the good and the bad way. He had to make sure to warn everybody to behave, especially Taemin. But knowing the dancer and his love for teasing him, then this wouldn’t end well.

“We could go out somewhere to eat?” Kyungsoo suggested and Jongin nodded.

“Of course. Key’s in the drama club. He wanted to see some play so going to the theater is also an option.”

And as he looked up he practically saw his boyfriend paling and for a moment he was concerned. But when Kyungsoo’s lips stretched in a sheepish smile and he looked down, he calmed down a little.

“That sounds good. I’m fine with it as long as it isn’t Romeo and Juliet.”

And Jongin could only stare at him and tilt his head to the side, curiosity burning inside of him. So he set the pen aside and waited for Kyungsoo to look back up and for their eyes to meet.

“Why not?”

Kyungsoo leaned down on the table and he was beautiful and mysterious when he smiled.

“I’ll tell you some other time.”

* * *

Ooooh my God, 4.2k words of meh. I don't even know...

Anyway, thank you for commentin! I love reading what you guys think of this! Also thank you for the suggestions I will try to include them in the story! ^^  
 


	14. -13-

1 3

 

It was way past midnight and Kyungsoo was busy with his assignments, glasses pushed high on the bridge of his nose. It was also quiet, for which the center was grateful, because this assignment was a third of his grade for the semester. And he couldn’t really afford procrastinating anymore.

It was quiet, because Baekhyun had gone out hours ago with Chanyeol and only God knew what they were doing. Kyungsoo didn’t even want to think about it, but he figured the latter wouldn’t be coming back for the night, so he decided to invest his time in studying. He was also trying not to think that only in a few fours he’d be going out with Jongin and his friends, spending the Saturday with them. It was definitely something to look forward to, but it was also making him feel a little nauseous. He still hadn’t figured out how to deal with himself and his own steerings.

He continued studying, an equation after an equation, feeling his brain shrink with every passing number he was scribbling down on the papers. It was a good after one o’clock, when his phone lit up, indicating a drunk text message from Baekhyun, who’d decided to inform him that he wasn’t coming back. A few low mutters under his breath, before he threw the phone back on his bed and sighed out, raising his hands above his head to stretch himself.

He threw a look down to the desk, covered in papers and books and he was actually pretty impressed by the amount of stuff he’d managed to finish in just a few hours without any distractions. And Kyungsoo certainly didn’t feel like he had the energy to continue solving math problems, or even if he did, he didn’t think his brain would cooperate with him. He stacked the papers in a folder, securing it tightly, because goodness, if he lost those….he shuddered at the thoughts, before grabbing his laptop and pulling it over on the desk.

The barely audible sounds of the machine awakening made him finally sigh out in relief. He felt like he’d accomplished something and was too damn happy to leave it no behind himself for at least another few days, before he had to go back to it. And he had brought out his laptop for the purpose of replying to the e-mail of his parents from yesterday and that only, before going to sleep, because he didn’t want to look like somebody had stepped on him the following day. Cause, you know, he had to leave a good impression. Or at least that’s what he wanted to do.

However, a beeping sound too loud for the silence of the room, scared him. A notification for a message. Kyungsoo looked down towards the notification, before clicking on it.

 

**kimkaaaaaa :** shouldn’t you be sleeping??

 

A goofy smile made its way to Kyungsoo’s lips, before he reached out to the keyboard.

 

**D.O :** and you?

**D.O :** but to answr your question, math.

**D.O :** answer*

  **D.O :** why are you up?

 

He didn’t have to wait for a reply, because Kai was typing quickly, replying almost immediately.

 

**kimkaaaaaa :** couldn’t sleep. Lay’s snoring...

**D.O :** i feel you…

**kimkaaaaaa :** feel free to feel me yes

**D.O :** omfg

**D.O :** are you always like that?

**kimkaaaaaa :** charming?

**D.O :** perverted

**kimkaaaaaa :** whatever shrimpy. Go sleep.

**D.O :** i can’t

**D.O :** you distracted me

**D.O :** now I’m thinking about feeling you

**kimkaaaaaa :** are you trying to sext?

 

Kyungsoo shuffled in his seat, a small smirk plastered on his lips. He wasn’t feeling sleepy anymore, at least not that much. Instead, he looked towards the username of his boyfriend and the brown poodle on the DP. He tilted his head lightly.

 

**D.O :** is that your dog on your picture? Monggu?

**kimkaaaaaa :** don’t try to change the subject

**kimkaaaaaa :** but yes it’s him

**kimkaaaaaa :** he’s cute, right?

**D.O :** I have to meet him too someday

**kimkaaaaaa :** Ya!

**kimkaaaaaa :** you’re changing the subject! We were talking about sexting here

 

Kyungsoo once again leaned back, feeling somewhat dumb for even writing that. But that was Jongin, his boyfriend. He knew him – he liked teasing him and maybe even making fun of him sometimes, but it never had been with bad intentions. Of course not. So maybe that was the reason Kyungsoo reached out to his bed and grabbed the phone he’d thrown earlier, needing only seconds to dial Jongin’s number.

After the first ring, the captain picked up.

“You scared the crap out of me,” the younger one started, voice hushed. Kyungsoo supposed it was because Lay was sleeping there. However, that didn’t stop him from grinning. He imagined it – Kai sitting on his bed above the PC, then the phone ringing out of nowhere, him flinching away cutely. Probably a few profanities escaping his lips.

“Sorry.”

“You sure don’t sound sorry at all,” Jongin’s chuckle was breathy. “But hey. Why are-…I mean…are you really…phonesex?”

Kyungsoo snorted in his empty room, bringing the phone closer to his ear.

“Phonesex? No thanks, I’d rather try the real deal first. What made you think it’s for that?!”

“I don’t know, you were talking about sexting just two minutes ago!”

“ _You_ were talking about that. Not me.”

“And now what? No sexting? No phonesex? What a boring evening.”

“Jongin, please, shut up…” Kyungsoo chuckled out, hearing his own laughter resounding in the room.

“Tch. You’re calling me, then you’re telling me to shut up. What’s up?”

“Nothing, really,” Kyungsoo shrugged, although nobody could see him. “I just wanted to hear you before going to sleep…”

There was silence for a few seconds, before a breathy, gentle giggle.

“And you dare say this in front of Byun Baekhyun? He isn’t going to let you live it down.”

“Baekhyun’s not here.”

“What?”

“Hm? He went out with Chanyeol. They went back to his room.”

“No, no… I mean… _what?_ Why didn’t you start with that?”

“How does my roommate's presence even concern you? Call my boyfriend and tell him ‘hey, you know what, Baekhyun went out for the night and now I’m alone and-…” Kyungsoo stopped mid-sentence, thinking about it, before clearing his throat. “Oh…”

“Yeah, _oh_.” Jongin chuckled again. “Can I come over? I can’t sleep…”

Kyungsoo blinked rapidly a few times, listening to the silence from the other side of the line. He felt his heart skipping a beat.

“Come…over? Here?”

“Yeah….I mean, if it’s-“

“No, I just…you surprised me.” Kyungsoo admitted, fidgeting nervously with the hem of his shirt, throwing distressed looks towards his bed. “I mean…yeah…sure, you can, but-“

“Oh… _oh, Kyungsoo_ ,” Jongin sounded like he’d realized something. “I mean..I could just come and we can hang out. Talk. Nothing…nothing more. We can watch some movie?”

“Ah…” Kyungsoo sighed out and he hadn’t even known that he had been holding his breath. “Of course you can come. I’m…well, here.”

“Cool. I have a Netflix account. So Netflix and chill.”

“ _God damn it, Jongin_ …” Kyungsoo almost chocked on air, before shaking his head lightly. “Just get yourself here. I’m waiting.”  

* * *

Jongin arrived about fifteen minutes later and Kyungsoo wondered what took him so long – the building with his dorm was only three buildings away on the campus. But he did show up, in all his glory – sweatpants and a winter jacket, because mind you, it was cold outside, a plastic bag with drinks and snacks. His hair was messy, he didn’t seem like he’d paid any attention to that, but Kyungsoo found it amusing.

Thus, he opened the door and grinned just when Kai leaned down to press his lips against Kyungsoo’s.

“Hi.”

“Now that’s a nice welcoming,” the taller one chuckled, leaning back down, hand snaked behind Kyungsoo’s waist to bring him closer to his body, as he crashed their lips together again.

Kyungsoo enjoyed the moment, because really – when did the two of them really ever have any time to be together alone. And now with Baekhyun gone they finally did have that moment of peace. And it was almost two am, nobody could interrupted them in this hour.

The thought was making Kyungsoo slightly uncomfortable, especially when Jongin let go of him and strided up to his bed, sitting on it and looking up towards Kyungsoo.

“So what do we do now? Movie? Or talk time? Or everything combined?”

“I don’t know. It’s really late to be watching a movie.”

“Then talk time!” jongin smiled and patted the bed. Kyungsoo locked the door, before he joined Kai on the bed, sitting on the other side of the plastic bag as the captain of the team proceeded to remove the winter jacket. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt underneath, but even that looked so deliciously good on him, that Kyungsoo had to force himself to look away from the outlining of his chest and up to his face. Which didn’t make him feel any better. Jongin was gorgeous.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” the shorter one asked, while scooting closer to Jongin, who was opening a beer can, which Kyungsoo was about to judge, but didn’t because Jongin brought him closer with his free arm, letting him rest his head against his chest.

“I told you. Lay was snoring.” Jongin shrugged, raising the beer to his lips. “Also I couldn’t stop thinking about tomorrow.”

Kyungsoo breathed out and it was a mixture of a sigh and a smile.

“Yeah. Me too….” Kyungsoo shifted and raised himself, leaning on his elbow on the bed. “Do you think your friends will like me?”

He hadn’t expected Jongin to laugh so loudly, nor to pull him back down to kiss his temple.

“You’re meeting my dumb friends, Soo, not my parents! I should be the one worried, because they’ll totally embarrass me.”

“Please…how could they embarrass THE Kim Kai?” Kyungsoo questioned and Jongin actually gulped down from the beer now, not only one innocent gulp, but three, very brave ones. When he moved the can away, his brows were furrowed.

“They’re called friends for a reason…they know shit about me that even I don’t know….especially Taemin. And he doesn’t seem to have a filter between his brain and mouth.” Kai sighed out. “I don’t know. I just hope they won’t be too much.”

“But they’re your friends.” Kyungsoo smiled. “I’d love to see how they are around you. Or rather, how you are around them. I bet it’s not the same as the team…”

“Well, the guys from the team are my friends, sure, but…the ones you’re meeting tomorrow have known me ever since freshman year in high school…”

Jongin scowled and Kyungsoo smiled. He knew that high school was a dark period for basically every person. He could bet that Kai was the cool kid even there, but being cool in high school and being cool in college were two absolutely different things.

So he snuggled closer to Jongin and looked up with a smirk on his face.

“Do you think they have pictures from back when they knew you in high school? I want to see what you looked like…”

“Oh god, Kyungsoo…” e felt the younger one shaking his head, then a hand running through his hair gently, pushing a bang away from his eyes. “Why are you making life so hard for me?”

And Kyungsoo laughed, enjoying the night with sweet talks together with his boyfriend.

The fact that they had to be up in just a few hours to meet these boys suddenly wasn’t as concerning…

* * *

Jongin was almost running forward, dragging him behind himself. Now, Kyungsoo had known that staying up until five am goofing around would result badly – they were supposed to wake up about ten to take the bus and reach the city and the cinema. However, they slept in and now they were running very, very late.

Jongin assured him that it was alright, as they hopped off the bus and towards the meeting spot and Kyungsoo was feeling himself grow uneasy.

“Oh, there they are…” Jongin muttered and Kyungsoo’s head snapped up to see a little group of four people standing at the side of the park fountain and he felt a pang in his chest.

“Wait, Jongin! What-…I don’t know what to say!”

The captain stopped in his tracks and before Kyungsoo knew it he was holding his face between his palms, a reassuring smile on his lips.

“It’s OK, Soo! Just be yourself. Say something nice.”

“Which one?” Kyungsoo deadpanned, earning himself a fond chuckle and a quick peck.

“Come on. It will be great!”

Kyungsoo believed that in order for relationships to work he had to listen to his boyfriend. So when Jongin once again gripped his hand and intertwined their fingers, Kyungsoo heaved a nervous sigh and tried to plaster a smile on his face.

Because eventually, as they finally reached the four guys and Jongin greeted them, everybody buried their eyes in him and he once again tried to smile.

“You’re late,” a foxy looking male with pink dipped ends of his blond hair said, looking them up and down. “And why the hell do you look like something ran you over?”

“Sorry,” jongin tightened his grip around Kyungsoo’s arm for a second. “We got caught up in something.”

“Dude. Not even a minute and you’re being gross,” a shorter male moved forward, spreading his hand out for Kyugnsoo to shake. “Hello. I’m Jonghyun.”

“Kyungsoo.”

“Oh, trust me, I know.” The other one said, causing the center to blink rapidly a few times. Then that guy, Jonghyun, with his wide smile and shiny eyes, jugged his chin in jongin’s direction. “He just never stops talking about you.”

“There we go…” Kai groaned, but Kyungsoo’s insides tingled warmly, as he looked up to his boyfriend with a small smile on his face. “Don’t stay stuff like this! It’s embarrassing….anyway, where’s Onew?”

“Hanging out in the arts department….or eating….probably eating…” Taemin said, a knowing grin on his face as he wove at Kyungsoo.

“Yeah, Ok, so…” jongin turned toward Kyungsoo, arm pointing towards the first guy that had spoken – the one who seemed genuinely uninterested in the whole conversation and whose eyes were burning a hole in Kyungsoo’s chest, as if he was trying to figure out what he was wearing underneath the jacket. “That’s Key. The midget beside him is Jonghyun-“

“HEY!”

“You already know Taemin and the one that’s grinning is Minho, his boyfriend.”

It definitely was kind of awkward when they started shaking their hands and when Kyungsoo had to introduce himself after Jongin proudly announced that ‘this is my boyfriend!’.

However, Jonghyun and Minho seemed genuinely interested in meeting him, Key didn’t seem half bad either, probably a little intimidating with that sharp look on his features, and Taemin who, for the bigger part of the introductions, was staring at Jongin, as if trying to relay a series of messages. Kyungsoo wondered whether telepathy was really a thing when from the periphery of his vision he saw Jongin shoving his best friend away and the other one laughing about it.

“Okay, we missed the first screening,” Key noted, a sharp look towards Jongin, who stilled down. “And I did not wear that coat with the intentions of staying out in the cold. Let’s just go sit somewhere and have lunch until the one at 4…”

Kyungsoo’s eyes involuntarily dropped to the open jacket and only now did he note that this guy seemed way too fashionable to even feel comfortable in these clothes. So he nodded vaguely.

“Good. I know a nice cafeteria here…” Minho suggested and Kyungsoo watched Taemin grin up to him, before the decision was made with Key whining that it was cold and with Jongin telling him to man up.

* * *

Kyungsoo was surprised by the flow of their meeting – everybody was talking, he was surprised that there weren’t any of these awkward pauses in which everybody was feeling uncomfortable. He was listening to what the other guys were saying and from time to time he was throwing a look towards Jongin.

It was obvious that they were close, maybe from the way they were bickering with each other, or maybe from the way they were throwing insults at each other. Or simply from the way they were joking around. Kind of like him and Baekhyun, but with more people.

He was listening when Taemin was talking about the dance club, bringing up that climbing thing. Kyungsoo’s eyes darted towards Jongin, who shrugged apologetically.  Then they brought up Minho, who turned out to be the star player of the athletic team. No wonder, Kyungsoo thought, vaguely looking towards the lean figure. It was obvious that he was an athlete, just judging by his body frame. And mind you, he was wearing a turtleneck. From that, to the missing Onew, and his obvious love for chicken, which had made  him and Jongin closer. Then Jonghyun, who was excitedly talking about his major and his club – obviously he was in the music department and at that information Kyungsoo’s eyes lit up with excitement, because not once had he thought about joining the music club before. But now, with the team and with Jongin and with everything else he had on his head, he doubted he’d have time for that.

“Nonsense!” Jonghyun interrupted. “Of course you’ll have time! As long as you want it and you don’t suck we’ll make it work! And I bet you don’t!....in fact, I can listen to you now, can you show something?”

“Jonghyun…Jonghyun…” Key raised and arm in the same time Kyungsoo’s face started becoming red from the sole idea that he was going to make him sing in the cafeteria. “You’re doing it again. Let the boy live. Besides, you can’t just randomly start singing in a café. Last time you did that, they kicked us out.”

A small argument broke out, in which also the other two got involved, for obviously they’ve been present back then and Kyungsoo was watching, slightly amused, when he felt a squeeze on his thigh. He looked to the side and Jongin was looking down at him, a mild smile on his lips.

“Why haven’t you told me you sing before?”

“You haven’t asked.”

“So I have to ask specific stuff to know that?” Jongin shook his head in amusement. “I want to know more about the stuff that you like…”

“Well, I like quiet places, I like music and singing and I like you.”

“That’s enough for me,” Jongin smiled, before leaning down to capture his lips in a lasting, yet chaste kiss. And Kyungsoo woudn’t have felt anything wrong with that, if he hadn’t heard a small cough from the opposite side of the table. Only then did he remember about Jongin’s friends, who were staring at them with badly concealed smirks.

“We can leave now if you want…” Jonghyun pointed towards the door, eyebrows raised up high on his forehead. “I mean, we wouldn’t want to be a bother…”

“I’m sorry-“

“Don’t apologize, Soo…” Jongin squeezed his thigh again, turning smugly towards Jonghyun with eyebrows just as high on his forehead. “If you don’t want to feel lonely why don’t you just jump on Key already? Being fake is a bad thing.”

“You’d know that.”

“What?” jongin furrowed his brows in confusion, as Jonghyun turned towards Kyungsoo, a very knowing expression on his face.

Kyungsoo felt threatened for a second.

“I bet you think our Kai is really cool and whatnot. Football captain and all, really awesome, not stupid either…A real catch…”

“…yes…”

“Jonghyun…I don’t know where you’re going with this, but be fucking careful, because I am right here and I will kill you if you say something stupid and -“

“Shut up, chicken kid.” Jonghyun interrupted, before turning back to Kyungsoo and leaning over the table, a conspirator look in his eyes. “So I bet you know all that, but has he ever told you about his high school times?”

Kyungsoo didn’t know what happened in the next moment – he only knew that Jongin jumped from his seat with an inhumane screech, reaching out to probably strangle Jonghyun. He knew that Taemin was guffawing and that Minho was trying to hide his smile, while Key stood up from the opposite side of the bench, rolling his eyes, as he sat next to Kyungsoo.

“I have to deal with these idiots every day…” the other one sighed, eyes darting towards the smaller one. “But you’re in this mess now, kid, so brace yourself!”

And somehow, with a warm smile on his lips, Kyungsoo was very happy to be in it.

* * *

The cinema was mostly empty at this hour – probably most people preferred the evening movies. But since they needed to catch the bus from town to the campus they had to finish earlier.

There had been a full-on battle in front of the ticket booth – some of them wanted to see an action movie, there was a documentary that Minho wanted to see and Key was throwing a tantrum for the drama he liked. Kyungsoo didn’t really have anything specific he wanted to watch, so he stepped out of that, watching Key and Jonghyun’s heated argument.

“They’re always like that,” Taemin stood next to him, swaying in his place and Kyungsoo looked up - the boy was actually tall. “We’ll be watching the drama….”

“Hm…” Kyungsoo muttered, looking back towards the two fighting ones. “Are they…are they together?”

Taemin laughed and for a second he thought he’d asked something really stupid, but then Taemin shrugged.

“Who knows? They’re on and off. Officially, they aren’t together. But God forbid, if Jonghyun sees somebody flirting with Key he goes crazy.”

“Ah…I see…” the center nodded and turned back just in time to see Jonghyun moving away with a lot of colorful insults spilling form his mouth and Key turning to the woman at the booth with a very pleased smirk on his face.

“Told you he’d win.” Taemin chuckled and bumped his shoulder into Kyungsoo’s. “Well, it’s most probably one of these dramatic heartbreaking stories, so sit next to Jongin and prepare to cry. Or to be cried on. Jongin is actually really sensitive, you know…can get quite clingy. You should buy tissues…”

Kyungsoo’s mouth was slightly open, when Taemin skipped away towards Minho and when jongin replaced him. Kyungsoo looked at him with a certain fondness.

“What? Do I have something on my face?...God, no. What did Taemin say?”

“Nothing, really!” Kyungsoo grasped his hand and smirked lightly. “Just that you cry during sad movies.”

“That fucker…” the captain sighed out, throwing a glare in Taemin’s direction. “I’ve only cried once. And in my defense, it was a really sad movie.”

“Stop lying, Kim Jongin!” Taemin grinned and ignored the following glare. “He always cries. And for the record, the movie was ‘Up’.”

There were a few barks of laughter, as they started entering the hall. And just before they entered, Kyungsoo gripped Jongin’s hand and smiled when the taller one looked at him with a discouraged expression.

“It’s OK. I cried, too.”

He felt tingling in his chest when Jongin smiled widely and leaned down to press their lips together.

* * *

The movie wasn’t bad, Jongin decided – it was nice, a little boring, but nice. The fact that nobody seemed invested in it (except for Key) was probably the best part cause he got to make out with Kyungsoo on the last row, without having to mind his friends. Because most probably they were at it too.

But when the movie did end, everybody was somehow happy with the day they’d spent together.

Also, jongin was very happy to note that Kyungsoo was feeling comfortable around his friends – he saw him interacting freely with Jonghyun, laughing with Minho and Taemin, talking about the drama club with Key. He was glad that they were getting along and so even the ride back to the campus wasn’t awkward.

He felt extremely happy when Key decided to finally smile fondly at Kyungsoo and declare that he’d look forward to the next time they’d meet. When Jonghyun shoved his number in Kyungsoo’s hand and demanded to se him audition for the music club soon. When Minho promised to come with Taemin to the next game to watch them play…

He was watching Kyungsoo and is glowing expression, his lips stretched in a wide smile, as they were left alone, walking towards the dorm of Kyungsoo.

“Well..I hope you had fun…” Jongin shrugged and saw his boyfriend eagerly nodding.

“Yes! Your friends are amazing!” Kyungsoo leaned on him. “I’m glad you introduced me to them.”

“Of course…” Jongin wrapped a hand around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “you seem quite OK. You don’t look freaked out. That’s a good thing.”

“It is,” Kyungsoo laughed, before abruptly stopping. “But there’s one thing I’m really curious about.”

“Hm?”

“What’s with this mystery about high school?”

Jongin elt out a strangled laugh, before pulling Kyungsoo closer.

“You said it yourself. It’s a mystery. I’m not telling you.”

“Taemin will tell me.”

“I will castrate him in his sleep if he does.”

“Wow. Friendship.”

Jongin laughed again, building D in sight, as they approached it. The team captain still had to gather his stuff from there, before going abck to his own room. And the conversation was gleeful, cheerful and friendly as they walked there.

When they stopped in front of the room, Kyungsoo sighed out.

“Baekhyun’s here.”

“How’d you know.”

“There’s this smell of annoying and insolent….also he never locks. See?” Kyungsoo pointed towards the doorknob and jongin wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to look at but Kyugnsoo pushed the door open and let him enter before he even got the chance to ask.

He wasn’t surprised to enter first and to freeze a little at the sight of Baekhyun lyung on his back, Chanyeol over him, both engaged in a very heated kiss, hands gripping at each other.

Kyungsoo entered beside him and heaved a sigh, before pushing the door. It closed with an impressive bang, that startled the two men on the bed. Jongin thought it was a bit ridiculous how Chanyeol crawled away from Baekhyun, just as if he’d been caught by his mother and how Baekhyun raised himself up on his elbows, lips slightly puffed, as he smirked.

“Welcome home. Wanna join?”

“Shut up.” Kyungsoo snapped and rolled his eyes, proceeding to take his jacket off. Jongin, however, leaned against the wall.

“This totally isn’t awkward,” he noted and Baekhyun snorted.

“It would have been if you’d come here anytime later.”

“You’re disgusting and I don’t want to live with you.”

“Of course you want to live with me. Besides, being a hypocrite is rude.” Bakehyun noted, the smirk widening. “So, captain, you’ve spent the night here?”

“Yeah…”

“See? My point is proven. If you can be disgusting, then so can I!” Baekhyun exclaimed, throwing his hands around Chanyeol’s neck to lean on his shoulder. Jongin watched as Kyugnsoo rolled his eyes again and was impressed by that – was it a tick?  

“It’s not like this, you moron.”

“Of, so he comes here and spends the night with you but it’s not like this. Sure. Right. I bet you two were discussing our nation’s evolution.”

“No. We were discussing your degrading.” Kyungsoo replied, before finally hanging his coat and turning towards jongin, who was watching the exchange in amusement.

Now, he did see that those two were close. And he could see that kyungsoo was slightly taken back by the speculations of Baekhyun, but he found it adorable. More so, he was glad that Kyungsoo’s mood didn’t seem to have changed. He still seemed happy, lively.

Especially when baekhyun jumped up from his own bed, dragging Chanyeol up.

“Whatever. You two are the ultimate cockblocks. In any case, we didn’t’ plan on staying here for the night anyway. There’s a party at the Kappa house. Everyone’s going.”

“Have fun,” Kyungsoo deadpanned, eyes boring into Jongin’s temple.

“You’re such a buzz kill, really.” Baekhyun frowned, reaching out towards the plastic bag Jongin had brought last night, taking a bag of chips out. “I’m taking that. Just don’t be too nasty, Kyungsoo. I can tolerate some stuff, but don’t do nasty shit on my bed.”

“What the-…you did that first!”

“What?” Jongin perked up, looking towards Kyungsoo, who seemed furious. “They actually did that?”

“Yes,” Baekhyun smiled, pulling Chanyeol’s hand around himself, as the giraffe grinned. “And it was really nice!”

Jongin was pretty sure that Kyungsoo would throw something at his roommate, but the duo escaped the room before that even happened.

Instead he watched as Kyungsoo ran a hand through his hair, breathing out in defeat and despair. So after the door was shut, Jongin smiled and moved over to him, resting his hands on his hips, pulling him closer.

“He’s a bit of a handful, isn’t he?” he questioned, lips brushing against Kyungsoo’s earlobe. He felt the shorter one sliding his hands up his chest and around his neck, hanging onto him, pressing his body against his.

“He’s a fucking moron.” Kyungsoo snapped, resting his head on jongin’s shoulder. “But he’s gone today too, so if you want to stay…”

Jongin didn’t need him to finish the sentence for him to nod in the other one’s hair. That, he’d love to do.

“Yes. And we can actually watch those movies today, if you want…”

He didn’t epect Kyungsoo to press his lips against his neck, but it was a good kind of surprise. Especially when the shorter one moved back a little and looked up though the reddish strands of hair that have fallen over his eyes.

“You said you had a Netflix account…so if you’re still up for Netflix and chill we could do that…”

Jongin wasn’t sure but he thought his heart stopped beating.

* * *

Wooooo, i finally finished this chapter oh my...

I've been really busy these days and I am sorry for delaying this so much. But unfrotunatel school is starting soon and I am moving, so I have a lot of wor coming up. i can not promise that the updates will be as regular as they're now, but I will try my best! 

Please, comment and just tell me what you think! Id' love to know that! Also, I've taken all the suggestions into consideration, thank you for that! ^^

Until next time! :)


	15. -14-

1 4

 

Jongin felt too hot. Heat was surrounding him and for a person who usually preferred sleeping with no blankets on and with the windows open, he seriously felt uncomfortable in his own skin. Besides, he wasn’t used to this heaviness on his arm. He just thought that he wasn’t used to waking up like this.

But then the sunlight peeked through the closed windows and hit him straight in the face, causing him to wiggle around and eventually crack an eye open, he saw the different room, the different setting, feeling the different scent, the sweetness of the person sleeping peacefully in his arms.

He remembered where he was. He remembered why he was here instead of his room. He remembered everything.

It felt different than usual because the heat he was feeling was because of the blanket, covering them. Because the heaviness on his arm was Kyungsoo’s head. Because the sweet scent was the fragrance of his boyfriend. Because the soft touch was his body leaning against his.

Because when Jongin woke up and finally looked around, he could only smile fondly despite the discomfort, and carefully stroke Kyungsoo’s head - a gesture full with affection.

Jongin blinked a few times, before actually leaning down to breathe in deeply, face buried in Kyungsoo’s hair, to let his fingers run over his cheek, caressing the soft skin. His eyes wandered around the room – Baekhyun, as promised, hadn’t returned to the room and for that, Jongin was grateful. He didn’t want the nosy front runner to let everybody know about the adventures of the new couple on campus. As if people weren’t talking enough as it was…

Jongin looked away from the empty bed and then back down towards Kyungsoo, snuggled so close to him in his arms, milky skin contrasting against the red bangs, eyes closed in his peaceful slumber.  An ironic smile made its way to the captain’s lips. No wonder Kyungsoo was tired…

Last night had been amazing. In every sense of the word – literal, metaphorical, theoretical. He couldn’t think of another way to describe it.

It’s not like Jongin hadn’t had sex before, no. It’s just that this time it felt somehow different – he was in a relationship with Kyungsoo and he had feelings towards him – this wasn’t just another fling. Another one night stand with some needy college student. This time, Jongin was feeling too. Because it was Kyungsoo.

His eyes fluttered down towards his boyfriend’s face again, fingers drawing random patterns on Kyungsoo’s bare shoulder, a reminder of last night, a part of his naked body, that wasn’t covered by the blanket.

It was kind of ironical, to look at him like this – so peaceful, so calm. Because only a few hours ago he’d been panting so heavily, moaning so sweetly. Only a few hours ago Jongin had seen his back arching off the bed, his face twitching with every proper word, with every right touch.

He’d seen him _lusting_.

He’d seen him _begging_.

He had heard him screaming and breathing out Jongin’s name in hushed whispers.

He had made sure that Kyungsoo had the night of his life. Or at least the first of the many.

And the fact that now Kyungsoo was simply lying in his arms, so much tinier than him, so sensual, so perfect -  it just made his heart flutter again, a sense of possessiveness washing over him. A feeling, that he had to protect Kyungsoo.

Which was kind of ironical, given the fact that the center could probably knock him out in about thirty seconds. But Jongin ignored that for a little while and instead tightened his grip around the smaller one, lightly enough not to wake him up, strongly enough to feel him against himself.

He didn’t want to wake Kyungsoo up. Not yet. He wanted him to rest, because he needed that.

After all, they had football training in the afternoon.

* * *

Last night had been wonderful, Kyungsoo noted to himself with a small smile, he didn’t know exactly how he managed to gather the courage to just do it, but he did. He had told Baekhyun already, but he loved Kai and he didn’t regret it. It was special.

Waking up had been perfect, with Jongin by his side and his gentle, bright smile, the quiet ‘Good morning!’ rolling off his tongue as if it were the most natural thing to do. And Kyungsoo had smiled then, because it really felt like it. Like this was how it was supposed to be.

Everything had been simply glorious.

Until the moment Kyungsoo was reminded of the football practice.

That’s when his smile dropped and when concerns started crawling into his mind, nesting themselves there. Because it was alright to limp lightly in his own room next to Jongin, who was the responsible for it. It was alright to feel slight pain, when he wasn’t around people. It would have been alright if he had to walk, although kind of funnily.

What wasn’t alright was that he had to run around a field, to play a game that he just wasn’t physically capable of playing at the moment.

People weren’t joking around when they were saying that the first time was a special one and that you’d never forget it.

Kyungsoo definitely wouldn’t forget it if the guys from the team found out what had happened because of him limping pathetically. They weren’t idiots, after all.

But it was a responsibility he had – he knew the game with CUBE was getting closer and closer and the team had a long way to go, although they were practicing crazily during the last days since they returned from the camping trip. He had to suck it up and just get through it. After all, those were just two hours.

Besides, it couldn’t be that hard, right?

* * *

Getting ready in the changing rooms wasn’t that challenging. It was alright – Kyungsoo was carefully reaching out towards his clothes, folding his things unlike the guys who tended to throw their stuff around, using each other’s clothes and deodorants. Kyungsoo liked his stuff neat.

Besides, it seemed kind of surreal, because even here Jongin was moving around him, talking to him, hand touching hand when nobody was looking, a gentle smile thrown in his direction, meant only for him and nobody else.

And even here Kyungsoo felt like he was melting – he could say that he was the most pathetic puddle on the face of earth at the moment, but he loved every bit of it.

Even when Chen made a sarcastic remark about them. Even when Baekhyun questioned what had happened. Even when Suho turned up and asked him whether he had fever because his face was red.

Even then, Kyungsoo didn’t feel like anything could drag his mood down.

Nothing could.

Not after Kai finally approached him when the guys started getting out one by one and pressed their lips together for a little kiss.

“Are you ready?”

Kyungsoo tiptoed and kissed him again, lips stretched in a little smile as he clutched the helmet tighter.

* * *

But his happiness lasted for about five more minutes, because when they eventually got to the field, hell on earth happened for Kyungsoo. Or in other words, Jongin switched to Kai mode. To Captain of the team mode. To the Wolf of SM mode.

And that Jongin, _Kai_ , he was nothing like the caring, gentle one that was making Kyungsoo’s heart flutter.

This man now was the quarterback that was leading a team to the win. And that didn’t happen with soft smiles, with gentle whispers, with soft touches and with breathtaking kisses. It happened with discipline, a lot of yelling, a lot of commands and profanities and a lot of ‘AGAIN!’-s.

And Kyungsoo would have thought that he’d get away with it. He’d thought that Jongin would cut him some slack – after all he couldn’t even walk properly because of him. However, when they got lined up on the field and Kyungsoo still had some motivation left in himself, he found out that Kai had no such intentions.

Because about two minutes later Chanyeol had managed to knock him off his feet and now he was pathetically rolling on the ground, hand raised to his shoulder where the shoulder pad had kind of protected him from the fall but not completely. It wasn’t his fault that his legs weren’t cooperating with him. What was the bad part, however, was that the guys stopped the practice and gathered around.

“Holy fuck…are you alright, Soo?! I didn’t mean to hit that hard, I just-…I thought you’d-“

“Yeah.” The shorter one interrupted Chanyeol who’d dived down to hook a hand around his elbow along with Luhan from the other side. They helped him up and he winced again, pain shooting through his spine. “I’m fine.”

And when he was on his feet again, the guys seemed to brush it off somehow, except for Bakehyun whose lingering gaze was fixed on Kyungsoo, but the center tried to ignore that. Instead, he focused on Kai and Suho, who approached them from the side of the field – a concerned expression on Suho’s face and a small scowl on Kai’s.

Kyungsoo could only sigh.

“Are you alright, Kyungsoo?” Suho questioned first. “You seem out of it today. You fell now. During the laps you-“

“Back to work, everybody.” Kai stepped forward towards Kyungsoo and the guys stared for a few more seconds, before eventually turning around. And there Kyungsoo was, looking up lightly to stare at Jongin – no, Kai – and to see him furrowing his brows. “Is your shoulder alright?”

Oh, right. Kyungsoo pushed against the shoulder pad and tried to feel his shoulder. And he didn’t feel anything that indicated any sort of injury, nor was he feeling anything different than pain from a fall, so he nodded.

“It’s alright.”

“Are you sure?” Suho seemed concerned, holding his folder tightly. “You really don’t seem alright. And that seemed painful just now. You should just sit down for today, you can always catch up some other da-“

“No.” Kai interrupted, throwing a glance towards Suho. “The game is this weekend, we can’t afford catching up later. There is no later.”

“But he-“

“He said he’s fine, right?” Kai questioned, jaw set as he looked back to Kyungsoo. No trace from remorse or pity or anything similar to that. Just the attitude of the captain of Sm’s football team. “Didn’t you?”

And Kyungsoo could only gape for a few seconds, partially not believing his own ears and eyes. Partially not being able to understand exactly how Kai could be like this right now.

But then again, he was feeling envy somehow. He admired Kai for being able to keep things separated from each other – he had his priorities at every moment. On the field, the team was important. On the field, Kyungsoo was just another player that Kai had to train. On the field they weren’t who they were.

So Kyungsoo gulped down, hand falling down from his shoulder as he forced himself to nod, very stealthily ignoring Suho’s critical look towards Kai.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

And after many more falls and many more attempts to catch his own breath, after many more concerned looks from his friends and after no word from Kai, Kyungsoo eventually started feeling some sort of pain creeping in his chest.

Just a little.

* * *

Jongin was sweaty and tired and pleased when the football training finished and when they returned to the changing rooms. He was listening to Lay explaining about his failed exam and he was trying to show some sort of support, but he caught himself staring around to catch a glimpse of Kyungsoo. But the changing room was big and the guys were loud and enthusiastic that they could eventually go and grab a beer now after the tiring session.

And eventually, he did see Kyungsoo at the corner, with Baekhyun beside him, who was helping him remove the straps of his protectors. Jongin’s insides clenched, as he patted Yixing’s back and moved forward towards the guys, reaching just in time to see Kyungsoo’s face twitch in pain when Baekhyun pulled on the shoulder pad.

“Sorry,” he heard the loud one mutter quietly, eventually throwing a dirty look towards Kai, who took it as a concealed series of insults. He probably deserved this.

“I’ll finish it for him.” Jongin said quietly and only now did Kyungsoo look up and Kai just couldn’t bear that look of pain, that immediately washed away and turned into a serious mask, as Baekhyun pushed the shoulder pads in his hands and moved away. Not before muttering a low ‘asshole’, that only the team captain could hear.

And maybe he was, but he had to be. Right?

He was just sitting there and holding the shoulder pad, watching Kyungsoo as he eventually raised his free hand up to deal with the other shoulder pad and only when he saw two furrowed brows on the gentle face did he remember what he was supposed to do. He set the one he was holding aside and moved forward towards his boyfriend, pushing his hands away.

“Let me do i-“

“No, I can-“

“Kyungsoo…” Jongin stared up and waited for Kyungsoo to raise his head and for their eyes to meet, before he sighed out. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.” Jongin muttered quietly, eyes not moving away from Kyungsoo’s face as his fingers dealt with the straps. “You understand why I did that right?”

There was silence for a few moments and Kyungsoo looked quite put off, but then he eventually nodded.

“I know. The game is soon. We need to prepare.”

“It’s not only this.” Jongin sighed out, finally looking towards the straps and detaching the shoulder pad. “It’s just that…I have to keep things separated, you know. We never know what will happen with us and …I just don’t want that to have anything to do with the team, alright?”

“Your timing is so awful.”

“What?” Jongin questioned, looking back to Kyungsoo’s face and seeing the shorter one already staring at him with a blank expression. They stood like this for a few seconds, before Kyungsoo shook his head, moving back.

“Nothing, forget it. Whatever. I understand.”

“Kyungsoo.” Jongin insisted again, stepping forward, trapping Kyungsoo between himself and between the lockers. The shorter one had nowhere to go. He couldn’t do anything when Jongin raised his hands and caught his face between his palms, making him look towards him. “If this is about last night…”

“Of course it is!” the shorter one hissed, voice going down. “We did that last night and now you’re saying you don’t know what will happen with us.”

“That was hypothetical.” The captain defended himself, holding onto Kyungsoo tightly. “It was perfect, alright? I loved every damn second and you know I’m crazy about you….I just need you to understand that there shouldn’t be ‘us’ while we’re on the field. I can’t afford to lose a good player because of personal relations, alright?”

“I understand that.” Kyungsoo nodded. “And I respect it. But next time it would be nice if you respected me too. Or my ass, for the record. Especially when it’s entirely your fault.”

“Oh, you have no idea how much I respect your ass.” Jongin couldn’t help but grin, because with these words he knew that Kyungsoo wasn’t holding grudges. He knew it also from the slap on his shoulder that followed and from the badly concealed smile on the shorter one’s lips. “Besides, it’s not my fault. You started it!”

“And you finished it.”

“But-“

“Whatever, captain.” Kyungsoo smirked. “Move now, I need to take a shower.”

But Jongin didn’t move, not before he pressed his lips to the side of Kyungsoo’s face, next to his ear. Not before he had the chance to kiss him and look straight into his eyes again.

“Are you seriously alright?”

“I’ll live.” Kyungsoo smiled. “Now go get me some ice, if you want to be useful. I can’t even feel my shoulder.”

* * *

Jongin decided to join the guys in the campus bar only when Kyungsoo said that he’d go with them. He wouldn’t have gone there if it hadn’t been for Kyungsoo. However, he was going, so it would be good enough.

Besides, he loved seeing Kyungsoo happy. He loved seeing the way his cheeks would rise when he smiled, how his eyes would crinkle in the end, he loved seeing the heart shaped smile stretch. He loved seeing him glow like this and it was occasionally happening when he was around the guys from the team. Around friends.  Around him.

So Jongin decided to let himself enjoy the sight. He owed it to Kyungsoo. And if he wanted to go out and have fun, then he was going to go with him.

He didn’t participate much in the conversations – he was just sitting silently beside Sehun, staring at his boyfriend, who was laughing with Chen and with Baekhyun at something silly Tao had said. He enjoyed hearing Kyungsoo laugh. The sound was beautiful, making him smile joyfully. Foolishly.

“You look like a madman.” Sehun commented, taking a sip from his drink beside him on the bar. “Stop staring at him. You’re creepy.”

“Shut up.”

“No, seriously. You look like you plan on kidnapping him or something.” Sehun snorted. “And knowing you you’re probably thinking about something like this. You and your nasty kinks.”

“What the fuck…” Jongin breathed out, brows furrowing for a second as he shot a look towards the younger one, raising his own beer up.

“You know,” Sehun shrugged. “Role-playing and stuff.”

“Just…just stop talking, Sehun.”

The younger one made a sound that Jongin couldn’t really define as anything. So he just decided to ignore him for the time being, as he resumed his staring at Kyungsoo and his eye smile.

At Kyungsoo and how he was occasionally throwing looks towards him, ones that caused Jongin to have mixed feelings.

He didn’t want to feel guilty.

He didn’t.

He had explained his point earlier to the older one. He couldn’t allow himself to mix these things.

But there it was – that feeling of discomfort when he looked at Kyungsoo again and remembered him just a few hours ago – lying on the football field with hands pressed to his shoulders, trying to hold himself together. And he hadn’t even moved forward to help…

Jongin raised the beer and somehow the content was gone within seconds. And he was just about to look back to his boyfriend, to continue exploring his expressions, but then he heard a clack of a glass against the counter and Sehun snorting out.

“You know…” the younger one said and Jongin made the mistake to look towards him. “You know how butterflies gather around the fire, right?”

Jongin vaguely nodded, not really paying attention, until Sehun shot him a look.

“I hope you know what you’ve got yourself into, Kai. You’ve never been the relationship type of guy.”

“How would you know that?” the captain squinted his eyes towards the yougner one who just raised an eyebrow mockingly.

“If the butterflies aren’t careful they get burned in the fire, Kai…so think about what you’re doing before actually doing it.”

There were a few moments of silence, in which Jongin looked back to his laughing boyfriend and then at Sehun again.

“I’m always careful, Sehun. I won’t get burnt that easily.”

Another snort from the younger one, as he shot a judging look towards the captain.

“Who said that you’re the butterfly?”

Kai stilled down in his place, blinking a few times, before looking back towards Kyungsoo.

He would never hurt him. Not intentionally. Never.

But then again, maybe today that’s exactly what he’d done. Kai bit on the inside of his cheek, before tightening his grip around the empty glass.

“Whatever.”

* * *

"Tell. Me. Everything.”

“No.”

“Oh my God, Kyungsoo, just tell me!” Baekhyun whined, throwing himself on Kyungsoo’s bed, beside his roommate, who threw an annoyed glance towards him.

“I don’t want to. God, Baekhyun…don’t be annoying!”

“Come on! I always tell you everything!”

“Which is nasty. I don’t want to hear half of the stuff you tell me.” Kyungsoo stated. “Now get off my bed.”

“Not until you speak up!”

Kyungsoo was friends with Baekhyun ever since the last two years in high school. He knew Baekhyun too damn well and for his utter horror, Baekhyun knew him just as well. And he should have known that there was no way to escape this conversation.

He should have known that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of the pest that his best friend was. Not until he told him something.

Kyungsoo grunted and pulled his blanket from beneath Baekhyun, before glaring at him.

“What do you want?”

There was a victorious smile on Baekhyun’s face, as he crawled up Kyungsoo’s bed to sit closer to him, legs crossed in a position that made Kyungsoo think that his friend had no intentions on finishing this quickly.

“What happened last night after me and Channie left?”

There was a lump already in Kyungsoo’s throat by the time Baekhyun finished the question.

A lot of images from last night flooded his mind. A lot of the things that happened hit him. Kyungsoo brought his legs up, holding a pillow in his hands.

 

_Kai had been so beautiful. So perfect. His body was like a sculpture that Kyungsoo couldn’t keep his eyes away from. A kind of perfection that he couldn’t keep his hands away from. And he hadn’t known what he looked like to him until Kai had started hungrily kissing him, leaving red traces on his neck and down his chest, hands making sure that Kyungsoo was left shaking._

 

He pulled the pillow tighter to himself, trying to ignore the tingling feeling in the lower pit of his stomach.

“We…me and Jongin…we…”

 

_Jongin hadn’t stopped kissing him. Not for a single moment. The moments he wasn’t kissing him was him whispering quiet words to Kyungsoo, that the shorter one couldn’t quite focus on. Not when he was feeling so overwhelmed, so well. Not when he was gripping onto Jongin’s hands, pushing himself up to crash their lips back together, to silence each other’s moans._

 

“You did it, didn’t you?!” Baekhyun seemed happy and Kyungsoo was somehow creeped out by him. “You slept with Kai!”

“Well…I….”

“Kyungsoo!”

“I did.” Kyungsoo muttered and only now did he note that there was a defensive note in his voice. “So what? He’s my boyfriend!”

“I know, stupid! I’m happy for you two.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, before once again leaning forward. “Come on. Tell me!”

“What the-…I’m not telling you anything more!”

“Did you top?...Of course not, why am I even asking. You walk like a penguin with fractured legs.”

“I don’t-“

“You do. Anyway. How was it? Was it good?...I bet…” the last part was a mutter that probably was Baekhyun’s own thought, but Kyungsoo decided, for the sake of their friendship, to ignore it.

“I don’t have anything to compare to, but it felt…it was just…”

 

_Kyungsoo was seeing white, even thought his eyes were shut tightly, hands still clutching onto Jongin’s hands. He felt so full, so complete. So damn good. Like he has never felt in his life before. Something new. Something thrilling. Something magical._

 

“Yeah?”

“It was amazing.” Kyugnsoo shrugged, trying to move away, but Baekhyun grinned at him.

“That’s good! That’s more than good! Now imagine what else is there to come!”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I-….don’t be stupid, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun snorted. “This was your first time. He surely must have been gentle and all careful and cautious and shit. Now imagine the real deal.”

“This felt good enough.” Kyungsoo shrugged away, bringing his legs closer to his chest. His roommate gave him a fond look.

“I bet it did. But you still have a lot more to see. Kai will show you.”

“You’re being really creepy right now.”  Kyungsoo frowned. “We’re talking about my sexual life and you make it sound like life lessons.”

“Sexual life is a part of life lessons.” Baekhyun stated, before leaning back on his hands. There was a small scowl on his face when he looked back up towards Kyungsoo. “But, Soo…if you did that last night then today…why did you even show up at practice?”

“We have a game this weekend. I have to train.”

“Honestly…” Baekhyun sighed out, shaking his head and looking somewhere above Kyugnsoo’s head. “I can’t believe you two finally did it and he let you roll on the field for the bigger part of the training. Speaking of which, how’s your shoulder.”

“Stiff. But it will be better by tomorrow.”

“Good,” Baekhyun nodded, then shook his head again, eyes boring into Kyungsoo’s. “Kai’s a good guy. He just doesn’t…he doesn’t understand everything. I’ve known him for years and he’s never had a steady relationship like this one before.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that he may come off as harsh right now, after today, but don’t think so. It’s just that he doesn’t know. He has a lot to learn, just like you. But for different things.”

“Since when do you even know him that well?” Kyungsoo muttered and then only a second later he felt a stinging in his forehead – Baekhyun had flicked him with his long fingers, a scowl on his face.

“I’ve known him for far longer than you, so shut up and listen. He’s a good guy, but sometimes he acts like a dick. He may not know what’s right or wrong to do in a relationship, but even then, the team really means a lot to him. So even if he does act like an asshole sometimes, try not to be harsh on him. As I said, he still has a lot to learn.”

 

_I just need you to understand that there shouldn’t be ‘us’ while we’re on the field_

 

“Do you understand?”

Kyungsoo did. So he nodded quietly, clutching his hands around the pillow, before Baekhyun’s smile slowly resurfaced and he looked at his roommate with the same predator look from minutes ago. A devilish look, that hinted nothing good.

“OK, but now you know everything about the most desired dick on the entire campus. We’re talking about Kim Kai here!”

“Baekhyun…”

“Come on, lucky boy! Tell me everything about that good good.” 

* * *

~~You see what i did there i am trash~~

Anyway, I hope you liked it. Also, i know you expected real smut but first times I just ;-; Please be patient and I'll reach that too :) Thank you so, so much! 

Until next time lovelies ^^


	16. -15-

1 5

A message popped out on the screen and the sound in his ear buds, that announced its arrival scared him. Kyungsoo blinked a few times before clicking the little pop-up balloon to spare a glance at it.

To Kyungsoo’s utter horror, it was the group chat. Which meant that once they started talking, they wouldn’t stop anytime soon and he’d end up muting the conversation. Again. However, he did, involuntarily, let his eyes run over the messages.

 

**Kevin:** party @ my place tonight

**Kevin:** bring booze

**Kevin:** and don’t break shit

**deerson:** cool

**$uho:** There is a game tomorrow.

**$uho:** How are you going to play if you have a hangover?

**ohorat_94:** Shut up grandpa

**xxxiumin:** who the fuck is Kevin?

**Kevin:** Xiumin, man, wtf

**chenchenchen:** Lmao

 

Kyungsoo shook his head, about to mute the chat again. He didn’t feel like attending parties, but another series of messages popped up before he could do anything.

 

**$uho:** Guys, I’m serious.

**$uho:** What about the game?

**ohorat_94:** oh my GOD, hyung, shut up

**ByunBae:** we have another problem

**ByunBae:** Soo is rolling his eyes beside me

**ByunBae:** I don’t think he’ll cum

**ByunBae:** Come* sorry autocorrect

**chenchenchen:** why the hell is your phone autocorrecting that to cum?!

**PCY:** :-)

 

Kyungsoo looked away from his laptop for a second towards Baekhyun’s bed, where the latter was lying down and already staring at him with a mild smirk.

“I’m not going, you idiot.”

“Why not?” Baekhyun shot up from bed while Kyungsoo heard a few more notifications for new messages. “The whole team will be going probably. We’ll have fun together.”

“Suho’s right. We have a game tomorrow. We need to concentrate.”

“Goodness, you’re so lame.” Baekhyun puffed out, fixating his eyes back on his phone, while Kyungsoo rolled his eyes again. He wouldn’t die without one night partying out. College life was too intense for him sometimes.

So this time as he was about to minimize the chat, another message popped up and he stilled for a few seconds.

 

**Kai:** Good. That’s a nice way to chill before the game.        

 

Kyungsoo blinked a few times and considered this again. A party. A college party with lots of drunk young adults. Mostly horny, knowing his friends. A lot of Kai’s admirers. Boys, girls. And they’d all go.

There was no way he was letting him go there without him.

 

**D.O.:** I’ll be there.

**chenchenchen:** woAH PLOT TWIST                      

**D.O.:** Shut up, Chen.

 

Kyungsoo detested the satisfied sound that Baekhyun made in his bed and he hurried to throw him a glare, before looking back towards his laptop.

 

**xxxiumin:** that’s all perfect but

**xxxiumin:** who is Kevin?                  

* * *

“No, no, it’s alright. I’ll go with Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo reasoned, phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear as he was looking through the contents of his wardrobe. “I’ll meet you there, OK?”

“Are you sure?” Kai asked, voice sounding soft through the receiver.

“Absolutely. We won’t take long! I promise.”

“It will be so boring without you…”

“Liar,” Kyungsoo smirked in his phone, before shaking his head lightly, which almost resulted in his phone falling. “Go and have fun until we come!”

“Hurry. I already miss you.”

Kyungsoo scrunched up his nose a little, barely holding back his smile, as he took the phone and ended the conversation. Kai was cheesy, but for some reason, he loved it. Every single moment of it. He loved all the sweet words that he was usually labeling as ‘gross’ when heard being exchanged between Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Words he never thought he’d enjoy hearing. However, it did feel nice and Kyungsoo did love it. Maybe a tad too much.

And after he threw his phone on the empty bed and turned to the wardrobe again, he heard a faint sound from the other bed.

“Um, Kyungsoo? It probably isn’t any of my business, but why are you trying to style up? I mean, perfect, you want to get laid, but not tonight, man. We have a game tomorrow. Remember what happened at the practice? Do you want that to happen during an actual game?!”

“ It’s not any of your business, yes,” Kyungsoo muttered, before turning around, a black meshed shirt in his hand. “But if it were, I’d let you know that I do not plan on having sex today.”

“Then why the fuck are you-“

“Because, Baekhyun, the entire college will be going to this dumb party.”

“Dress to impress? You’re already dating Kai. What more could you want?”

“I want people to back off.” Kyungsoo smirked lightly and for the first time in the last two hours he was seeing an expression on Baekhyun’s face that wasn’t confusion. It was a mixture of surprise, understanding and disbelief.

“Really, now? And you plan on showing everybody how sexy you could be? This won’t end well, Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun sighed out.

“I don’t need you and your pessimism.” Kyungsoo retorted, dragging out slitted skinny jeans.

“Uh, you do. Otherwise I would have been already at the party. With Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo could swear that Baekhyun had rolled his eyes judging by the disgruntled sound he made. “Speaking of which. Why am I needed here?”

The shorter one decided to ignore him for a few seconds while pulling the mesh shirt over his head and checking out the result in the mirror. It was good enough, he thought, it would make Kai stick by his side all night long. Without caring about the others and their opinions. It would make everybody realize that Kai had made the right choice with him. That he was worthy of the quarterback. And eventually, people would stare tonight, but Kyungsoo smirked. Let them stare. There’s a lot to stare at.

So with that exact mindset, he turned to his best friend to face an expression of doubt and suspicion. Baekhyun’s arms were crossed in front of his chest, as he was waiting for Kyungsoo to answer the question. Kyungsoo smirked lightly.

“So you know how to apply eyeliner, right…?”

“Eyeliner won’t suit you.” Baekhyun shook his head momentary, before raising a hand to push away a bang of hair from Kyungsoo’s forehead. “However…do you have hairspray?”

* * *

The party was packed, loud and repulsive. Just what Jongin had expected.

So he ended up meeting the guys, he helped Kris with the drinks and the food, he had to jug his chin a lot of times to greet people. Some of them he didn’t even know, but that didn’t stop them from greeting him. And there was nothing bad in that, Jongin thought, but the lack of Kyungsoo’s presence was making him jumpy.

Every time he’d hear a faint call of ‘Kai!’ he’d turn around and expect to see Kyungsoo, but he was nowhere to be seen. So instead of trying to solve mysteries, Jongin had ended up leaning against the chicken counter, a beer in his hand and a cell phone in his other one, as he dialed Kyungsoo’s number.

He was his fingers on the beer can anxiously. It’s been about half an hour since he called him last time and they still haven’t showed up. He shot a look towards Chanyeol, who was only sitting a few meters away, phone never moving from his ear.

“Aren’t you at least a tad bit worried?”

“What for?” Chanyeol shrugged. “They’re together. Nothing’s wrong. Chill, Kai.”

“But-“ Kai was interrupted by a panty ‘hello’ from the other side of the line. “Kyungsoo! Where are you?!”

“I’m-um…we’re on our way!”

Jongin furrowed his eyebrows when he noted how breathy Kyungsoo sounded and when he heard noises form the other side of the line.

“Are you-…Kyungsoo, are you alright?”

“What?” a surprised, panty voice. “Yeah. Fine. I’m perfectly alright. I’m only-…get off me!”

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin’s brows furrowed even more, as he slightly pushed himself off the counter, leaning more into the phone.

“Yeah, just give me a-…get off me, Baekhyun….a second!..... _MOVE!_ ”

“Kyungsoo?!” Jongin questioned again, slight panic in his voice. “What is Baekhyun doing on top of you?!”

Jongin listened to hushed nagging and in the same time had the utter pleasure to see Chanyeol spitting out his beer as he heard him. Then a moment later, two round eyes were staring at him, full with confusion. The giant mouthed a ‘what the fuck’ and Jongin just blinked a few times. If only he knew….

“He’s not…oh God, it’s not that. He’s just being annoying.” Kyungsoo said, voice calmer now and Jongin sighed out in complete defeat. He couldn’t figure anything out, so he bet on asking again.

“Where are you? You should have been here by now.”

“I know, I know. We’re almost there. Baekhyun almost crashed with somebody on the way and then he stopped and now there is traffic. But we’re almost there.”

Kai sighed out, a little annoyance and distrust nesting inside of him.

“Why is Baekhyun driving? Do you know how he drives!? You could have gotten yourselves killed.”

“I know _now_.”

“You should have called me to pick you up.” He said, then sighed out. “Anyway. Be careful, OK?”

“Alright.”

Jongin pushed his phone back in his pocket, turning to a very scandalized Chanyeol.

“Why is Baekhyun driving?” he shot straight away. “And why is he on top of Kyungsoo? …Wait, how is he even driving when he’s on top of Kyungsoo?...I do not approve of this.”

Kai fired a look in his direction, bringing the can to his lips.

“To be quite honest, I’d prefer it if I were on top of my boyfriend, too. But life sucks and you have to deal with it.”

“So you’re alright with Kyungsoo being with another man?”

“If that man is Baekhyun, then yes.” Kai shrugged. “They’re best friends. Besides, Baekhyun’s so gay for you.”

“You’re gay for me, too.” Chanyeol grinned cheekily after a half-hearted nod.

“If you had a dog and a brother, I’d choose the dog.”

“Naturally. You’re some dog loving freak! It’s scary. Please tell me you’re not into beastiality.”

“You’re insane.”

“And you’re digging it.”

Kai only rolled his eyes again, feeling somehow at ease.

“Keep dreaming, Yoda!”  

* * *

Jongin was anxiously waiting, moving from the kitchen to the living room, where it was now a tad calmer, because somebody had discovered the garden with the swimming pool. Kai really envied Kris for having this house all to himself, so near to the college. But then again, after every reckless party he was throwing, this place was resembling a hellhall. Now, Kai didn’t know how he always managed to get the place look just as good as it had before after such heavy nights, but he also didn’t care enough to ask. As long as he wasn’t involved in the cleaning procedure, he was fine with whatever.

But he had to give it to him – his parties really were famous among the students around. He didn’t know anybody who could gather more people with a simple text message.

And it was all very nice and everybody around him was screaming, dancing, having fun. But he (and from only recently Chanyeol too) couldn’t get himself to stand up and join the party. Not when Kyungsoo still wasn’t here. And with every passing second, Kai was becoming more and more hysteric.

And he was just melancholy swaying on the armrest of the couch, trying to ignore the booming music and the mass of people. But what he couldn’t ignore was Chanyeol slapping his forearm and a low, but prominent ‘ _holy fuck’_ escaping his mouth.

Jongin turned to him, probably ask him what his problem was, why he was hitting him etc. However, when he eventually turned his head, he felt his jaw dropping.

“Oh my-…” He couldn’t even finish his thought because of a lump that had suddenly formed itself in his throat.

Maybe it seemed surreal, but to him it looked like that – Baekhyun making his way through the crowd that didn’t mind him, and behind him – Kyungsoo. Bt that wasn’t his Kyungsoo. That was a man, that managed to attract all eyes to himself with his calm demeanor and attitude. So mysterious, clad in black clothes. So beautiful, milky skin contrasting against the attire. Red hair gracing his features. He was himself, yet somehow different. Somehow perfect.

When their eyes met, Jongin felt like the world stopped moving, because Kyungsoo was staring at him, a gentle, calm smile on his face. _I’m here_ , he mouthed, and Jongin sighed out, blinking a few times to clear his head. This was probably all the alcohol and the music, but he felt his heart racing faster with every step Kyungsoo was making towards him.

Jongin pushed himself from the couch to a standing position, completely facing the newcomers. He didn’t feel even remotely bad for not paying any attention to Baekhyun, who lunged himself towards Chanyeol. At the moment, he only had eyes for Kyungsoo. Nothing else.

So when the redhead eventually stepped forward again, Kai approached him too. And he didn’t know what had gotten into him at the sight, or maybe he knew too damn well but chose to ignore it, but as soon as he was in reaching distance, his hand had flown behind Kyungsoo’s neck to pull the shorter one forward.

Kai crashed their lips together roughly, their teeth lightly clashing, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was that this was what he’d been waiting for all night. And when Kyungsoo was serving it this way then Kai was wanting it even more. Craving.

He didn’t realize his hands were groping, touching everything he could.

He didn’t realize his lips were attacking, kissing everything in their reach.

He didn’t realize his body was heating the more his excitement grew.

He realized, however, that Kyungsoo was experiencing the exact same thing somehow – because two smaller hands found their way to his neck, pulling him closer. Because plush lips were opened, letting out small sounds of pleasure. Because eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and eyes were hooded with lust.

Kai hadn’t thought that this would ever happen, but he felt himself getting smaller. Kyungsoo was too much for him to handle – he was always so spontaneous, so damn different. So interesting.

He moved away, resting his forehead against Kyungsoo’s. Both of them were panting for breath, but Jongin ignored that for the time being. Instead, he looked straight into Kyungsoo’s eyes to find out that the shorter one was already staring at him. He smirked.

“Lookin’ good.”

“I try.” Kyungsoo replied calmly, a teasing tone in his voice and Jongin felt his throat drying again, letting his eyes take in the glorious being that Kyungsoo was. The jeans were tight, hugging his thighs so sinfully. The shirt was leaving nothing to the imagination. And the face, god damn it. Jongin brushed his thumb against Kyungsoo’s cheekbone, eyes inspecting the hairdo.

“The red in your hair is more prominent like this.”

“Baekhyun said that too.” Kyungsoo shrugged. “It’s OK.”

“No, it’s not OK.” The captain shook his head and felt a pair of eyes staring at him, as he gave the elevator look to Kyungsoo yet again, feeling steerings. Not only mental ones, but also ones in his nether regions. “It’s hot.”

“You’re hot.” Kyungsoo retorted and before Jongin knew it the shorter one had captured his lips again. He was surprised when he felt him trailing his tongue on his lips, before biting on them lightly. And Jongin finally let out his shocked chuckle – the one he’d been holding in ever since he laid eyes on Kyungsoo.

“Okay, shrimpy, hold up. What’s all this about?”

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“I might like it a tad too much to be able to think properly. That’s why I demand an answer.”

Kai stared as Kyungsoo’s lips lifted in a lopsided smile, as he dragged his hands to his shoulders, leaning on him.

“I just wanted to look good for my boyfriend.”

The captain had to blink a few more times, before wrapping his hands around Kyungsoo’s waist and before pecking him quickly.

“It’s unnecessary. You always look good.” He noted, before his eyes moved to the crowd. He saw many people immediately looking away. Many continued staring insolently without batting an eyelid. He felt like snarling at them, but he turned to Kyungsoo instead. “And everybody’s staring. I don’t like this.”

“Well that’s flattering.”

“Kyungsoo!” Kai whined and he was once again surprised by his actions. “I don’t want them to stare at what’s mine.”

A quick slap on his shoulder.

“They stare at what’s mine every day but you don’t hear me complaining, right?”

“That’s totally different, I’m not-“

“What?” Kyungsoo questioned, a small smirk on his lips, as he raised an eyebrow. “What’s different?”

“Well, for a starter, people know that I’m off limits. Besides, I don’t really pay attention to them. It’s always been like this. And besides, I worry when they do it with you, it’s so damn…off.”

There were a few moments of silence, in which Kyungsoo just blinked blankly at him, hands falling from his shoulders, before he burst out laughing. A bell-like sound leaving his heart-shaped lips.

“That. That’s the single most stupid thing I’ve ever heard. Are you drunk?”

“Maybe. A little. On you.”

“You’re so damn cheesy it’s making me cringe.”

But he didn’t cringe. Instead, he leaned back down and they kissed again, body against body, fingers running through each other’s hairs.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” he heard Kyungsoo’s breath ghosting next to his ear. “I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, _I know that_.” Kai nodded, feeling a light nib on his earlobe, that made his entire body tense up.

“And as for my relationship status,” Kyungsoo sounded delighted when he stepped away, an entertained expression on his face as he tilted his head towards the crowd, most of them still staring. “I think they’re very much aware that I’m off limits too.”

“Let them know,” Kai said, feeling a small smirk blossoming on his lips. There was a hungry tone in his voice, as he cupped Kyungsoo’s face and brought their foreheads together again. “ _You’re mine_.”

* * *

Kyungsoo got used to the stares. Maybe because Jongin never left his side or maybe just because he stopped caring. It didn’t matter. What was important was that if anybody might have had doubts about him before, now they surely didn’t.

If there had been anyone who thought Kai wasn’t serious about this relationship, now they were proven otherwise. Because it’s been more than three hours now in which they’ve been standing with their friends side by side, fingers entwined, an occasional kiss or two. It felt amazing. To know that he could do whatever he wanted without caring about the others. Different somehow.

He felt free.

“So hey, Soo. I like what you did with your hair. It looks…well, not like you. That’s good.”

“You’re being a rude piece of shit, Tao, shut up.” Luhan snapped at him, before shifting his eyes towards Kyungsoo. “But I have to agree, you do look smoking hot tonight.”

“Looking is allowed. But don’t touch.” He shrugged, feeling absolutely no shame in the moment. Probably it was the small amount of tequila burning in his veins.

“What?” Kai shifted beneath him. “Nope. No. Absolutely not. No touching _AND_ no looking. You guys are gross.”

“It’s not like we haven’t seen him naked.” Sehun rolled his eyes and Kyungsoo felt his cheeks burning. “The perks of being in a football team.”

“How is that a perk?” Tao frowned, moving away. “It’s absolutely gross.”

“Shut your heterosexual mouth, Zitao.”

“Well,” Lay spoke up, voice somehow distant in the booming house. “I’m not into guys either, but D.O. has a nice butt. And Kai tends to walk around half naked in the dorms too. And he never locks the door when he showers. I’ve seen things.”

“Oh my God,” Kyungsoo heard Kai grunting out, before he pushed him gently to the side for a second, staring at his roommate. “Lay? Yeah. That’s OK. You can stop talking now.”

“How did we fucking end up talking about naked people?” Xiumin questioned and Chen provided an answer.

“Tao was talking about Kyungsoo’s hair. And then we found out Lay still has that weird butt mania. Are we sure he’s not gay?”

Kyungsoo blinked away from the conversation and the mortified Yixing, resting his hand on Jongin’s thigh. He moved his head to the side and only seconds later felt a pair of lips ghosting on his skin. Kyungsoo smiled.

“Do you want to dance?” Kai asked him and Kyungsoo momentarily froze.

“Dance?...Mmm…I can’t dance, Jongin.”

“Oh please. It’s not like anybody will see in that mess.”

And Kyungsoo realized he was probably right – there wre just so many people. Nobody wuld mind him and his weird penguin dancing. However, Kai would be there and the only person who he cared for at the moment would see him. Which wasn’t what he wanted.

“Maybe later. After three more shots.”

“No.” Kai said and suddenly his demeanor was cold, as he stood up and was now not facing Kyungsoo, but the entire team. “No more drinking! We have a game tomorrow. And this party is only supposed to be relaxing. So no more drinks. Am I clear?”

“Buzzkill.” Sehun muttered and reached out for a new shot, before winking towards the captain and gulping down the content. “Cheers.”

“Moron.” Kai muttered. “I swear to God if we lose tomorrow I’ll punch all of you.”

Kyugnsoo raised his eyebrows a little, thinking just how much he loved it when Jongin turned into the captain of the team – how much authority he had over the guys, because even Sehun pushed the tray with the remaining shots away. How much he loved it when Kai was disciplined like this. It was stirring his imagination and at some thoughts his cheeks were starting to burn.

Like now.

He jumped on his feet and instead of thinking about how nice it would be to see Kai like this in the bedroom, he caught his arm and started dragging him towards the floor where all the people were dancing.

“I thought you didn’t want to.” Kai turned him around an one moment Kyungsoo was pulling him into the crowd, next one he was in his boyfriend’s arms, swaying unnaturally slowly to the upbeat song.

“I changed my mind.”

Kyungsoo clung onto Kai when the taller one chuckled.

“What is going on with you today? Did Baekhyun drug you or something?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, before resting his forehead on Jongin’s shoulder. It was kind of funny how they were just swinging slowly, shifting their weight from foot to foot when the music was loud, fast, booming. When people around them were grinding, they were just swaying. In their own little world.

And Kyungsoo lived with the idea that this would continue throughout the evening. But his hopes were quickly crushed when Jongin turned him around and pulled him closer to himself, bodies glued to each other as he picked up the rhythm and Kyungsoo felt the blush creeping on his face.

But the beat was intoxicating, the atmosphere was thrilling, he felt himself getting loose. Becoming one with the music, he was letting himself have fun without caring. Without thinking. The music. Jongin. That’s everything that mattered right now.

At some point Jongin said something to him, whispered almost, but Kyungsoo didn’t hear him.

“What?!” he shouted over the music, but Jongin just smiled and kissed the tip of his nose.

“Nothing.”

And Kyungsoo thought everything was simply perfect – sans te stench of alcohol and the horny people around, but between him and Jongin everything was fine. More than fine. Kyungsoo could swear that life was playing jokes on him. Only if they didn’t have a game tomorrow he’d make sure that Baekhyun was out for the evening. Then he’d invite Jongin again. Then he’d-

He stopped himself abruptly. He didn’t want to think about that. He wasn’t supposed to. Instead, he tapped Kai’s shoulder and excused himself. Said that he had to go to the bathroom. And Kai nodded, letting him go after a quick peck.

Kyungsoo puffed out the air in his cheeks, as he headed for the bathrooms, slowly making his way through the crowd. People were still staring at him and it was kind of weird, but he was already used to it. He could live like this.

The bathroom was mostly empty, or at least that’s what Kungsoo wanted to think – he ignored the sudden moan that came from the closed door of the toilet. Instead, he hurried towards the sink and splashed his face with cold water. He needed some fresh air too probably, but that would mean taking Jongin out in the garden. Which meant more people. And that, Kyungsoo didn’t want. However, he did splash his face with water again and he took a quick look at the mirror – not a single hair was out of place and he smirked at his reflection, He had to thank Baekhyun later for this. Or probably just his parents. Another smirk.

He got out of the bathroom and somebody told him ‘hey’. He was pretty sure he didn’t know them, but that didn’t stop him from replying. It felt weird.

It really did, Kyungsoo was thinking, while walking through the crowd. He was noticing it – not only today, but the last weeks. People were randomly greeting him on campus. There was even once a dude in the cafeteria who asked him how practice was going. Kyungsoo had never thought that a spot on the football team would mean this.

And as he was thinking, he bumped into somebody – a tall guy, a very tough one at that, huge arms and all. And Kyungsoo blinked a few times as said guy looked down at him.

“Sorry, I was zoning off.”

“Ah…it’s ok.” The guy smiled and Kyungsoo noted that there was nothing nice in the cold scowl. The guy poked somebody beside himself – another tall dude, who turned around and eyed Kyungsoo. “Look, this is him. The one I told you about.”

“The faggot?”

“Same.”

Kyungsoo felt himself freezing in the spot, blood boiling in his veins. He felt his cheeks burning, his eyes darkening, his entire figure tensing. And his night had been so good, so damn good. He couldn’t let some morons ruin it with stupid insults. And he was just about to reply bitily – a reply featuring said tall dude’s mother and the navy, but another voice boomed over his and over the movie.

“What did you call him?!”

Kyunsgoo turned to the side, slightly surprised to see Kris walking towards him with a very scary expression on his face, now , Kris would have been the last guy on the team Kyungsoo thought would come to his help or whatever. But fact is, he was walking towards them, towering over the guy slightly, a very negative scowl on his face.

“Kris, man, that’s really none of your business.”

“You’re at my party and it is my business if you’re going to insult my fucking friends, alright?!”

Kyungsoo sighed out, reminiscing. This wasn’t the first time a big dude was picking on him at a party hosted in the home of Kris. In fact, the previous time it happened was when he met Kai for the first time. Well, officially. He let out a ghosty giggle at the thought, which earned him a few glances.

“What are you laughing at?!” angry dude growled. “Having fun, are you? Having the big guys protect you? Is it fun to watch?”

“Dude, stop, he’s the center of the football team….”

“I can’t fucking care less, he’s laughing in my face!”

“More like, at your face.” Kyungsoo hummed and he was pushed back by Kris who jumped forward just in time to stop the first dude from jumping on him. Kyungsoo’s eyes slightly widened at the insults that flowed out like a song from the guy’s mouth and he also vaguely noted, that many people were gathering around. He felt a hand on his waist and turned to the side to see Kai with his serious expression on.

_Uh-oh._

“What happened here?” the captain asked calmly, voice somehow loud in this entire mess. Everybody was looking and Kyungsoo couldn’t stop himself from thinking how ridiculous this was.

“Your small cocksucker is causing trouble.”

“Holy fuck, I’ll punch you if you don’t stop lying.” Kris let him go eventually, running a hand through his blond locks. “It’s all good, Kai, forget it. Come on, people, there’s nothing to watch, go-“

“No, Kris.” Kai interrupted him and when Kyungsoo once again looked up he didn’t like what he saw. There was an ice cold expression on Kai’s face, who was staring at the guy who’d insulted him in the first place. “He just insulted my boyfriend in front of me and that’s not fucking good with me.”

“Jongin…” Kyungsoo tried to utter, but his boyfriend didn’t listen to him, as he approached the guy. The center didn’t like this. At all. Not the fact that Kai looked like he was going to rip off his throat. Not the fact that he was once again going to fight instead of him. To protect him. As if that was even necessary. “JONGIN!”

And eventually, the younger one stopped in his spot for a second and turned to look at Kyungsoo.

And all Kyungsoo did was walk up to him and place a hand on his shoulder. Then he smiled.

“This really isn’t necessary. I told you already that I can protect myself.”

“But-“

“Leave it to me.”

And just when Jongin furrowed his brows, confusion evident on his face, Kyungsoo tightened his fingers into a fist that he threw at the guy with enough power to hear a satisfying for him muffled cry when he was brught backwards. One of his friend cursed out loud, lunging forward to hold him. Another one stepped back, carefully eyeing Kyungsoo.

“Next time you call me names, make sure I’m not in hearing range. And be happy that there’s a game tomorrow. I don’t want to waste my energy on trash like you.”

He threw a glare at the guy who was olding his nose and Kyungsoo might have felt slightly guilty, but he turned around and he faced the victorious crowd that, for some reason, was cheering. This was ridiculous. It was fun how Baekhyun winked at him with a proud mother-ish kind of smile. It was weird how Suho was talling people to scatter because there was nothing to look at. Funny how he turned around and actually gave him a thumbs-up.  How Luhan was laughing silently to the side, how Sehun was making that ‘not bad’ face.

But Kyugnsoo finally grinned when a hand caught him by the elbow and turned him around. For a split moment he thought it was the guy. That probably he’d get punched or something.

Instead, he felt hot lips on his only seconds later and he smiled in that kiss, pulling Jongin closer to himself.

“How,” the younger one breathed out, their foreheads touching. “...did you deal with this so calmly?”

“I literally punched him in the face, how was that calm? I’m dealing with teenage angst right now, Mr. Kim,” Kyungsoo smirked. “I need to, like, write down in my journal or something what an awful person I am right now.”

“Holy fuck,” Kai laughed. “I think I love you, Mr. Do.”

And Kyungsoo would have been frozen, absolutely petrified, if Kai hadn’t laughed gently and if he hadn’t pulled him in for yet another passionate kiss. Because these words…these words were scary.  
But Kyungsoo knew that it was the moment. He knew it was the situation.

And it was just convenient like that.

Instead of thinking about what had been a joke, he wrapped his hands around Kai’s neck and deepened the kiss, faintly hearing Kris’ exclamation in half-drunken state.

“IF WE WIN THE GAME TOMORROW I’M THROWING ANOTHER PARTY!”

* * *

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

_Breathe in._

Kyungsoo closed his eyes, trying to mute out the cheering of the crowd, trying not to think about anything, except for the game.

They were in formation, he was at the front, there was a massive guy in front of him, the center of CUBE, who was smiling nastily.

It was one thing to play on the field with the guys, but it was a completely different thing to have the entire team on a bus to another school, to another field, where they were the guests. It didn’t feel as comfortable.

Besides, Kai’s yelling on the bus had been kind of discouraging. But then again, it was Sehun’s fault for being a little shit and not listening. For drinking too much last night and for having a hangover now. He resembled a noodle with his long limbs that he couldn’t quite control properly yet.

Kai had threatened him, but the runner had once again ignored him.

Which resulted in the tied scored at the final halftimes. This was seriously bad.

But that was none of Kyungsoo’s job. He needed to take care of the beginning of their games, so he squinted his eyes again and he looked towards the back to see his team. Then again towards the ball and towards the opposite team’s center.

Kyungsoo heard the whistle of the judge and all thought left his mind, as he lunged forward, shoulder crashing with the shoulder of the other center, ball flying on the field already. Kyungsoo pushed forward and when he pushed the guy away, he immediately turned around to run, to look. To squint his eyes and see the mess.

People yelling, Kai making a very frustrated move in his position, where the ball had been supposed to reach him, but hadn’t. Kyungsoo looked to the side. There were three men down – one of them was from the opposite team, but the other two were Sehun and Chen. Kyugnsoo frowned, hearing the boos of the crowd. If this continued like that, then they were going to lose.

They wouldn’t qualify for the finals. And he didn’t fucking want that.

Neither did Kai, who was stealthily signaling for the judge for a time out as the other team scored a touchdown. And when he angrily continued stomping towards Chen and Sehun, Kyungsoo grunted out. This wasn’t going well. At all. At least not judging by Kai’s angry walk.

“Oh Sehun, you little piece of shit, I WARNED YOU!” he heard as soon as he got closer. “I told you and now we’re losing here! Why weren’t you fucking watching?! Chen tripped because of you! They got the ball! THEY FUCKING SCORED!”

“I’m rea-“

“I don’t want to hear that you’re fucking sorry.” Kai spat out, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He was holding his helmet so tightly that Kyungsoo feared for a second that he might throw it. He sighed out. “Get on the fucking bench, Sehun! Somebody bring the –“

“No. Wait.” Kyungsoo jogged forward and reached a hand out towards Chen, helping him stand up. “Don’t take him out of the game!”

“What the-…” Kai turned towards him and Kyungsoo should have known that this wasn’t the best mood of his boyfriend. Of the captain. But he set his jaw and stared back. “He can’t fucking walk in a straight line.”

“That’s true, but we can change the tactic.”  Kyungsoo nodded confidently, reaching out to drag Sehun up too. “How about we reverse it? From the left and then forward. The guys tackle, you get the ball and you run. That should do it. Why should we pass the ball around when I can directly give it to you?”

“Kyungsoo, this is not the fucking time to experiment-“

“No, Kai, wait.” Kris raised an arm. “This was one of Suho’s formations. We have trained it, it’s just not one of our usual stunts. We can do this!”

“I said-“

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo insisted and he saw the captain staring at him, eyes slightly squinted. He wasn’t Jongin here, but Kyungsoo didn’t give a damn. Not now. “Trust me!”

* * *

Kyungsoo’s heart was pounding in his chest as he tried to keep a poker face on. The other team would expect the same way of approach – they’d go for the runners, they’d try to stop them.

But now Kyungsoo was seeing Chanyeol and Baekhyun, Xiumin and Kris at the front, getting ready, getting in steadier positions. The front line runners. They were going to hold the first guys back.

And as for Kyungsoo, he was responsible for the game now. He had only one try. One chance to pass the ball directly to Kai without falling first.

So when he heard the whistle he breathed ut quickly, throwing the ball behind his legs. And he wanted to look. He wanted to see what was happening Because of the ball, a one millisecond inconvenience, the other center managed to pull him back, but Kyungsoo didn’t mind that. He looked back to see the ball still flying.

His breath hitched.

Kai caught it. It landed in his arms, and as if suddenly charged, the quarterback started running, hand raised in front of himself to eventually push off opponents. Kyugnsoo’s eyes shifted towards the front line, and he smirked. Things were good.

Kai was running, and his heart was pounding.

Kai was running, and the public’s screams were somehow muted to Kyungsoo right now.

Kai was running, and all Kyungsoo could do was hold his breath.

And he only gasped lightly when a runner of the opposite team appeared out of nowhere and practically jumped on Kai, just where the line was. And Kyugnsoo let out a mortified ‘fuck’ when the quarterback was tackled and his heart skipped a beat.

**BEEP.**

Kyungsoo looked up to the scoreboard when it announced a change in the score. He breathed out.

_Touchdown._

And he didn’t even know what he was doing – his body was moving on its own.

_Touchdown._

He was standing up from the ground, as somebody grabbed his hand and dragged him forward. Baekhyun. He was hearing faint shouting, faint excited cheers. He couldn’t hear the crowd. All he could hear was the beat of his heart drumming in his ears.

And they were running towards the other side of the field. Running, until they reached Kai, who was standing up with difficulties. And who was only moments later tackled back down to the ground by a very excited Kyungsoo who jumped on him.

“We won!” he exclaimed, hands around Kai. “You did it!”

“No,” Kai groaned, a little smirk evident on his lips as he turned and finally looked at Kyungsoo. “You did it.”

And honestly, Kyungsoo couldn’t be happier. They’d done it.

And he was just about to lean forward and kiss his boyfriend, celebrate the victory, but he heard himself letting out a ‘oof’ when somebody jumped on him and then there was somebody else and Kyungsoo realized that their team members were jumping in on the pile one after another, screaming happily.

And, _God damn it,_ why was he at the bottom of it all?! 

* * *

I caaaaan't believe this took me long, I really can't. 

It's random as fuck, 6.6k words of literally what?.... but I hope you liked it!

Until next time ! ^^

 


	17. -16-

1 6

The day was calm, quiet. The sun warmly caressing his skin. Fingers drawing random patterns on his jeans clad thigh.

Kyungsoo breathed in deeply, feeling Jongin’s scent, as he buried his head in the crook of his neck, still leaning against his lean front, resting on the tables on the campus behind the main buildings.

He didn’t mind that they weren’t speaking. It was enough for him to just be close to Jongin, to feel his heat surrounding him, to feel his heart beating under the palms of his hand, to feel his presence. It was enough.

Besides, it’s not like their table was quiet. It never was. Not with all of the guys sitting there, mostly bickering, or laughing way too loudly. Sometimes staying quiet until one of them would say or do something stupid, that would cause another wave of amused sounds, an uproars of anger or simply uncontrollable chuckling.

But Jongin wasn’t like that most of the time – the team captain was mostly quiet, chuckling along sometimes, not so often expressing his opinion on matters, unless it was something concerning him or the team. And for Kyungsoo it was more than enough – to hear his deep voice so close to his ear, to feel his entire body shaking lightly when he was stifling laughter, to see his eyes turning into crescents when he was smiling, to just be there with him.

And Kyungsoo had long ago realized that there was no point in lying to himself anymore.

He loved Jongin.

And although he was scared, it was stronger than him. And somehow, he didn’t mind it. Not even one bit.

Not after getting to know him better and better with every single passing day. Not when he was spending most of his time with him, not when he felt them getting closer and closer with every spoken word, with every look, with every touch, with every kiss, with every secret.

He loved Jongin and he knew that this wouldn’t change anytime soon.

So he smiled lightly and gripped the shirt between his fingers tightly before lifting himself lightly to press his lips against the soft skin of Kai’s neck.

Immediately he felt two hands tightening around him, breath fanning next to his ear as Jongin turned his head around lightly.

“What was that for?”

“Do I need a reason?” Kyungsoo smiled, before resting himself against Jongin again, as if that was the most natural thing to do. And Jongin, just as naturally, wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer.

Kyungsoo smiled again, melting in his own little bubble of perfection and happiness.

And then Chanyeol spoke.

“You know, I really hate to break it to you, but we’re actually out. Around people. Stop being gross.”

“I didn’t see you having a problem with that yesterday when you were shoving your tongue down Baekhyun’s throat in front of the lecture halls.” Kyungsoo replied with his eyes still closed.

“First of all, it was in front of the music appreciation hall. I have only seen Jonghyun going to that lecture. And second, for some people don’t seem to mind us…”

“That’s because Kai is hot and you are not.”

“Xiumin?! What the-…I thought you were on my side!” Kyungsoo heard hushed laughter and then a quiet ‘oof’ meaning that somebody’s been hit. He would have rolled his eyes, but it wasn’t even worth it.

“No, but seriously…everybody’s staring…” Suho’s mutter cause Kyungsoo to finally crack his eyes open and to almost hiss at the sunlight hitting his eyes so suddenly. However, he really did raise his head lightly to look around and see many people whipping their heads in the same time, as if afraid of being caught.

And for the first time that day Kyungsoo felt bitterness. Why did something always have to screw it up.

He barely held himself from glaring at all the students passing by. Right.

However, he did feel two hands tightening around him again for a moment. Then a pair of lips brushing against his earlobe.

“Ignore them.”

And Kyungsoo nodded with a lump in his throat. Because ever since the party, people have changed. Rumors were going around, people were talking about them. Kyungsoo had achieved his goal – there was nobody who was trying to get closer to Jongin like before, there weren’t judging looks. However, people’s curiosity was too damn big. Now they were watching, invading. And Kyungsoo hated that even more.

He hated it when people he barely knew were asking him about their relationship, when he was hearing comments about him and the captain, when he was seeing them look and talk. It was making his insides turn.

But Kai was right – the only thing he could do was ignore them, even though he was feeling the lingering gazes. And when he eventually rested his head against Kai’s shoulder again, he was more than satisfied to feel the other one burying his face in his hair for a few moments.

“Are you free tonight?”

Kyungsoo ignored Chanyeol’s groan, he ignored Sehun’s comment, he ignored the sounds his friends made. Instead, he smirked and entwined his fingers with Kai’s. The younger one beneath him breathed out, before pecking Kyungsoo on top of his head.

“Perfect.”

And Kyungsoo closed his eyes once again, before hearing Chanyeol’s deep voice booming again.

“…Hey, Baek?”

“Hm?”

“Give me that bag you’re holding. I think I might puke.”

* * *

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Jongin’s hoarse voice sent shivers up Kyungsoo’s spine. “He said he’s going to the dance club.”

This was all Kyungsoo needed to hear before his hands flew around Kai’s neck to pull him over himself and to press their lips together. To feel Kai so close, in another way. To feel his hot lips leaving traces on his jawline and neck, to feel his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt.

To know that they were alone and that they wouldn’t be disturbed if they continued.

So that’s why he pushed Kai back and hastily reached out for the end of his shirt, pulling at its edge. And his boyfriend complied, he raised his hands so that Kyungsoo could pull off the clothing quickly, to throw it aside carelessly, letting his fingertips graze the toned chest and the outlines of Jongin’s abs. To finally take in everything, to attach his lips on Kai’s collarbone and to bite on his skin lightly, to hear him finally let out a quiet groan, before he was once again being pushed down on the bed.

Hands aimlessly running on Jongin’s back, Kyungsoo tried to keep his breathing steady when his boyfriend started placing kisses down his chest, fingers teasing around the sensitive skin of his nipples, making him feel excitement bubbling in his chest with every passing moment.

And when Jongin’s lips eventually reached the waistline of Kyungsoo’s jeans and when the younger one looked up to see the center of the team holding onto the sheets, he could only smirk and Kyungsoo could only reach out towards him.

“Kiss me.”

And Jongin didn’t need to be told twice, he pulled Kyungsoo up and connected their lips together, for a gentle, yet fierce kiss. Loving, yet demanding. For both of them. But Kyungsoo could feel Jongin’s fingers on his waist, fidgeting with the button of his jeans, shivering every time his fingers brushed against his skin.

And every time they were doing it, it was only getting better.

Kyungsoo knew what Jongin liked. So when he pushed their crotches together to create friction he heard Jongin hissing lightly, before clamping his lips over that one sensitive spot on Kyungsoo’s neck, that made the center arch his back into Jongin’s body with a quiet moan.

“I need you, Jongin…” the shorter one rasped out, before pushing Jongin away for a few seconds, staring right into his hooded with lust eyes. And that look made Kyungsoo feel so special, because there he was, Kim Jongin, looking at him like that. And it only made the bubbling in Kyungsoo’s chest even more prominent, the beating of his heart even stronger.

And when the younger one eventually did nod and managed to pull of Kyungsoo’s jeans with a very swift move, the shorter one felt his breath hitching again.

At the contact of Kai’s fingers with his thighs, with the tingling feeling that was staying behind as Jongin moved his hands even farther up his thighs, teasing Kyungsoo so cruelly.

“You’re so beautiful, Soo…”

“Jongin…” the shorter one panted out, fingers tightening around Jongin’s biceps. “…touch me.”

Kyungsoo felt Jongin’s lingering gaze on his face, before the younger one pulled back slightly to reach out towards the nightstand next to his bed, hand frantically roaming through the top drawer.

And while Jongin was searching, Kyungsoo took his time to even out his breathing, he let his eyes slide down the curves of Jongin’s body – the lean muscles, the bronze skin, that he simply wanted to mark, to claim Jongin his. To let everybody know that he belonged to him just like he belonged to him.

However, he didn’t have the chance to, because only seconds later Jongin was kissing him again, tongue tracing the outline of his lips, before breathing out, completely seated between Kyungsoo’s legs, hand stroking his side.

Kyungsoo heard Jongin opening the cap of the lube and he anxiously waited, eyes never moving away from his boyfriend and his swift movements.

And just when they shared yet another glance with Jongin leaning down towards him, Kyungsoo moaned.

“Jongin!” he uttered, as he felt his boyfriend’s free hand moving to stroke his neglected member, finally. To divert his attention from the lubed finger that penetrated him slowly.

It wasn’t painful, but maybe a little uncomfortable. Kyungsoo still wasn’t used to the feeling. He doubted he’d ever get used to it…

However, Jongin was keeping a steady rhythm, eventually adding a second finger, that had Kyungsoo gritting his teeth.

The center found himself liking the stretch, the slight pain that was coming with it, the faint burn. It was a good kind of pain, a good kind of hurting. And he wanted more of it, so  he opened his eyes and stared at Jongin, breathing out heavily because of all the things he was feeling, because of the pleasure mixed with stinging from Jongin working wonders on him.

“Jongin…Jongin, I need you…”

“But I haven’t –“

“I don’t care.” Kyungsoo insisted, pulling Jongin by his shoulders down to kiss him hungrily. “I want you. _Now._ ”

The captain seemed a little taken aback, eyes slightly widened in worry, so when he didn’t move Kyungsoo took it upon himself to unbutton his jeans with shaky fingers and to tug at the clothing, before Jongin actually started moving and complying, pushing his jeans off and once again moving over Kyungsoo, arms on both sides of his face, as he leaned down to kiss his cheek.

“About all the things these people are saying, Soo-“

“Not now,” Kyungsoo almost groaned, gripping his boyfriend’s shoulders. “I need you now!”

“Well somebody’s too excited…” Jongin smirked lightly and Kyungsoo loved that smirk, but he couldn’t stop himself from throwing a glare.

“Tell that to your boner, you- _ah!_ ” Kyungsoo’s fingernails dug into Jongin’s skin when the younger one sunk down and it on his neck not so lightly, in the same time Kyungsoo finally felt him moving closer, aligning himself to his entrance.

And then he had to grit his teeth because he didn’t want to hiss in pain. Because two fingers were nothing compared to Jongin’s member slowly penetrating him, even though they were using lubrication. But Kyungsoo didn’t mind. Instead, he dug his fingernails in Jongin’s shoulders again, because he knew that the latter liked it. He moaned out breathily, letting Jongin suck on his neck. He knew he’d have a bruise. A hickey. And he knew that the football team would definitely see it in the changing room, but for now he couldn’t concern himself with such thoughts. The only thing he could actually pay attention to was Jongin and the sudden fullness he was feeling when the latter stopped pushing in. And he just stood there, peppering Kyungsoo’s entire face with kisses, giving him the time to adjust, letting him calm down.

And Kyungsoo did exactly that, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, deeply, before pulling Jongin down to kiss him.

The younger took it as a confirmation to move, snapping his hips against Kyungsoo’s body, causing the other one to gasp at the sudden movement, to shut his eyes closed again.

And Jongin continued, gradually increasing his speed, and the little bubble in Kyungsoo’s abdomen was starting to wake up again, to make him feel more and more, to finally enjoy the pleasure of it all.

Especially when Jongin pulled him up slightly, completely changing the angle of his thrusts. That’s when Kyungsoo finally let out a shameless moan that probably even the people on the other floors might have heard. To see white spots, to breathe out in absolute pleasure because Jongin was assaulting his prostrate without having mercy.

And Kyungsoo didn’t want mercy. He only wanted this, the pleasure Jongin could bring him. And it was even better because he knew that he enjoyed it as well – judging by the quiet and low groans and moans, the lightly furrowed eyebrows, the lower lip captured between perfect teeth.

The center almost screamed when Jongin’s hands roamed all over his chest again, rubbing his nipples, adding more t the pleasure he was already feeling – the bubble inside of him was threatening to burst, the white spots in his vision were only multiplying.

“Come on, Soo…” he heard Jongin whisper lowly, his hoarse voice adding up to everything he was already feeling. “Can you cum for me?”

Kyungsoo shut his eyes closed when a hand brushed against the head of his leaking member and that was all he needed – Jongin’s non-stopping thrusts in that one particular spot, his hands abusing his nipples and member. That’s all he needed to reach his peak with a grunt, a weak _‘Jongin’_ slipping past his swollen lips, as ropes of white landed on their chests. And Kyungsoow as still on his peak with Jongin thrusting a few more times, riding out his orgasm before he stilled down and let out a sound, while resting his forehead against Kyungsoo’s. Kyungsoo knew he’d finished as well, because seconds later Jongin had pulled out of him, lying on the bed next to him, breathing heavily.

And they were just sitting there, Kyungsoo thinking about the last hour in a frenzy, thinking about how they ended here and how he loved every second of it, how he loved everything about Jongin and how he wanted to kiss him so badly. So when he turned his head around to the side, he was pleasantly surprised when Jongin’s lips met him on the way. Kyungsoo smiled in the kiss, feeling Jongin’s hand playing with a strand of his hair, that he pushed behind his ear.

Jongin smiled at him when they pulled away.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to…thank me after every time we do this…” Kyungsoo muttered uielty, but his boyfriend laughed quietly beside him.

“Oh, I need to. I am grateful for it. For you…for having you.”

“Stop being cheesy.” Kyungsoo smiled, burying his face in Jongin’s shoulder once again  - a very comfortable place he’d found for himself.

“You like it when I’m cheesy.”

“Guilty.” Kyungsoo laughed quietly, feeling the exhaustion slowly creeping through him.

And everything was perfect, they were holding each other, just staying together, before there was a loud knock on the door, that made Kyungsoo flinch in utter horror. Especially when the person outside spoke.

“Hey, guys…” Yixing’s voice resounded through the dorm room, voice slightly muffled because of the door standing between them. “Can I come in now? Or are you still not done?”

The last thing Kyungsoo did before almost falling off the bed in the rush to look for his clothes that he’d have to drag to the bathroom was to glare at Jongin, whose face seemed somehow darker. As if he was blushing.

But just a little.

* * *

“Hey, Kyungsoo!” Suho grinned, walking up to the center of the team in the crowded hallway. Kyungsoo could only smile faintly, distractedly.

“Hey.”

“Chanyeol said there are pancakes on the menu today in the cafeteria! Let’s hurry up! I wanna get ones with chocolate before they finish!” the coach’s assistant excitedly ranted, making Kyungsoo furrow his brows at him with a little smile. How typical of Suho.

However, as tempted as he was about the idea for chocolate pancakes, he had to shake his head.

“I’m sorry. I need to go to the Principal’s office.”

Before he even finished Suho looked at him with confusion on his face, without even trying to find it.

“The Principal’s office? What are you gonna do there?”

It was Kyungsoo’s turn to look at him completely cluelessly.

“I have no idea. My mathematics professor told me I needed to go there immediately after the lecture…” Kyungsoo sighed out, adjusting the strips of his bag on his shoulder. “It’s probably something organizational.”

“Well, that won’t take long. Besides it’s on the way…” Suho shrugged. “I’ll come with you. And then we can go to the cafeteria together, right?”

Kyungsoo smiled at the idea – it was always better to move around with somebody who knew you, who was your friend. Besides, the walk to the administrative building wouldn’t be as lonely like this.

Instead, he was walking with Suho, excitedly talking with him about the upcoming game on Sunday. Discussing one of Suho’s new ideas for the game plan.

And it was all bubbly talk and smiles and laughter until they reached the secretary’s desk and she told them to go right in. That’s when Kyungsoo cleared his throat and turned his serious mode on for a few seconds, just when the Principal turned around -  a middle aged man, who immediately stood up and gave them a very dry smile, eyes darting towards Suho.

“Mr. Kim, I didn’t expect to see you here with Mr. Do.”

“We were on our way to the cafeteria, so I thought it wouldn’t be a problem if I…if I just tagged along?”

“It’s alright, Mr. Kim.” The man wove his hand towards the two seats in front of the massive desk. “Please have a seat, both of you. It’s actually good that you’re here.”

Kyungsoo and the assistant of the coach shared a look with furrowed brows, before actually sitting down on the chairs, cautiously. Kyungsoo straightened, brows furrowed, when the Principal looked at him with an unreadable expression.

“Sir?” he asked, feeling quite uneasy. “What did you need me for?”

“We’ve received a complaint, Mr. Do.” The Principal stated and Kyungsoo’s eyes widened, hundreds of thoughts going through his mind in a matter of only seconds, as he blinked his confusion away. “About you.”

“A-about me? I haven’t done anything!” Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows, trying to recall something regarding the university he might have done – however, he couldn’t. His grades were good. He was just a quiet student, not bothering anybody.

But then something in him snapped, and he remembered all these people who were staring at him and Kai, and his heart clenched. They couldn’t have done this right…complaint to the administration…his eyes frantically looked around, before locking on the Principal.

“Sir, if this is anything about me and Jongin, then – “  
”Jongin?”

“Kai…I mean…Kim Jongin.” Kyungsoo sighed out, closing his eyes for a split second. “I swear to God, all the students are always watching with these judging expressions, but we haven’t done anything wrong. Like, I understand people like him, he’s the star of the football thing and all, but it’s not my fault that they can’t bear to watch him with somebody else, it’s…it’s absurd! If it’s about us the-“

“Mr. Do,” the Principal interrupted him, face slightly moving into what had to be a fascinated little smirk. “I do not interfere in my students’ love lives.”

“Oh,” was the only thing Kyungsoo could say, falling abck in his chair, ignoring Suho’s amused expression. “Then…then what is it…sir?”

“We received a complain about last week, Mr. Do.” The Principal sighed out, leaning back in his chair. “About physical assault on another student.”

“Physical assault?” Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows. “I haven’t… _assaulted_ …anybody! I…”

Kyungsoo stopped in the middle of his sentence, memories washing over him. Memories from the party. That boy…that boy who he punched…he couldn’t have possibly…

Kyungsoo looked up to the Principal, who sighed out.

“You’ve broken his nose, Mr. Do. I think this counts as a physical attack.”

Kyungsoo wanted to reply, to shout that that jackass had totally deserved the punch. However, he stood still in his place, still trying  to ignore Suho’s eyes skipping between him and the Principal.

“And why am I here?” Kyungsoo slowly asked, dreading the answer. However, the Principal seemed like he had to talk, as he leaned forward, staring at some files in fornt of himself.

“You see, Mr. Do, I usually don’t meddle in the business of the students, in the relationships and their problems. You’re all adults and it is none of my business to interfere in your lives. However, when I receive a direct written complaint, I cannot overlook it.”Kyungsoo nodded quietly once, feeling his mood dropping drastically, as the Principal pushed the files aside and finally looked right at him. “Normally there is detention for such cases. Most often suspension for a while, depending on the case. However, you’re a really outstanding student, Mr. Do. Your files are perfect. Your grades are high, you haven’t done anything problematic.”

“So I’m getting some sort of detention?” Kyungsoo furrowed his brows. Perfect, if this is what he needed right now, with all the trainings, with all the work for exams and everything. He internally groaned, wishing to meet that poor bastard somewhere outside of the university, so that he could beat up his ass real good for setting him up like that.

But he had to listen, because the Principal leaned forward again.

“Normally I’d have to suspend you from the university for a month, Mr. Do. But you have sessions coming up and I do not wish to ruin the future of somebody as promising as you. So instead we’ll just keep this suspension for all activity clubs for this one club.”

And before Kyungsoo could  only say anything, Suho had jumped on his feet.

“You can’t do that!” the assistant of the coach was standing, a very shocked look on his face. “We have a game this Sunday, sir! And the finals are only after a week! And Kyungsoo is a key player, we cannot do it without him!”

And that’s when it finally dawned down on him. When Kyungsoo exhaled, all power leaving him at the realization.

They were suspending him. From everything that wasn’t connected to studying – suspension from the offer for the music club, suspension from all other sorts of clubs Kyungsoo could join. And most importantly, suspension from the football team.

“Sir! You seriously can’t do this!” Suho was reasoning. “That guy at that damned party! He was being an asshole! Kyungsoo had every right to punch him!”

“Mr. Kim.” He Principal said with a stern look and Suho finally stilled down, brows furrowed. “Please, sit down. I do understand that this would be a great loss for the team. And trust me, this team is representing my university! I want you to do well, but I also need to do my job. So this is the only compromise I can make now.”

“But-“

“Not another word, Mr. Kim.”

And Kyungsoo’s breathing was becoming ragged, a new kind of uneasiness growing inside of his chest.

“Sir…I…you can’t take me out of the team…we worked so hard for this and….and I just…can you please let me play on these two games then I will…I will take my suspension and I will…I don’t know, I can do some community service, but these games are really-“

“Mr. Do.” The Principal said with a tone that made all hopes Kyungsoo had fly out of the window. But the man leaned forward. “Mr. Kim said you’ve had a reason to…to punch that person. So you can write your own complaint to the administration to cancel your suspension. This is the only thing I can do for you now. But until your letter is reviewed, I cannot do anything about it.”

And Kyungsoo could only sigh out deeply, eyes open, but not seeing anything. However, when Suho stood up and pulled him up, Kyungsoo bit his lower lip, trying not to think about Kai’s reaction. Trying not to blame himself.

“Thank you, sir.” Was all he could say, because after all, that Principal really did give him tips on how to get out of this, if it were possible. He hadn’t given him a full suspension. So he felt grateful. At least for that. But somehow shattered.

Suho, however, looked at the Principal with a cold glint in his eyes.

“I will let the coach talk to you, sir.”

“This won’t change anything, Mr. Kim…” the man behind the desk sighed out. “You can go now. I do believe that you have a football team to mobilize.”

Kyugnsoo’s heart skipped a beat and he just stood there, completely drained, before Suho grabbed his elbow and pulled him out of the office.

* * *

Kyungsoo didn’t join the others for lunch, neither did Suho. The other one said he was going to find the coach and ‘find a way to deal with this’.

Kyungsoo returned straight to his dorm room instead and threw his bag on the bed in frustration, letting out an animalistic growl, mixed with a sob. This was awful.

Just a few months he hadn’t even thought that he’d be a part of this team, that he’d be a part of the group of people he’d always enjoyed watching. But here he was, and now they were telling him he couldn’t do what he loved to do. And he hated it.

And as for Kai’s reaction, he didn’t even want to think about it.

However, what he did in his room was the find the application and to fill it out, not mentioning some of the details such as the fact that that guy called him a ‘cocksucker’ and that Kai was actually the first one who was going to punch him. It would be no good if he got back in the team but they suspended the captain and quarterback. Kind of senseless.

So he submitted this and started praying to all gods out there, for it to be reviewed soon, as soon as possible.

And he was just sitting there, alone, wondering what to do, how to find a way out of this situation, when his phone beeped and he bit his lower lip again.

Alarm.

For practice.

His heart clenched in his chest again, but he stood up. He’d have to eventually face Kai about this. Talk to him.

He was his boyfriend, after all. He needed to tell him.

So with heavy footsteps, Kyungsoo headed for the door, stopping momentarily, about to pick up the backpack with his protectors, helmet and towels, but then he stopped himself, a bitter scowl appearing on his features, before he kicked it angrily on the way out.

* * *

Jongin was already ready for the training – helmet resting under his arm as he was looking around the mess of the guys getting ready. He couldn’t see Kyungsoo and he was feeling very uneasy. He hadn’t seen him all day long.

“You look like a lost child,” Chen grinned at him, half naked, fastening the protectors on his shoulders. Kai only glanced at him. “Without Kyungsoo, I mean. You look kind of, out of place somehow. I don’t know, maybe I should take the Captain position.”

“Shut the trap and get ready. You’ll be making three more laps.”

“See? My point’s proven. So damn sensitive…”

“Shut up before it becomes five laps.”

“Where is he anyway?” Chen asked finally, pulling on his jersey, looking around with Kai. “Did you two fight or something?”

“Chen you’re seriously asking to be beat up.”

“That’s if you catch me, kid.” Chen grinned again, slapping Kai with his towel before dashing away. And the captain would have followed, but instead he just shook his head, throwing a glance towards the reddening skin on his forearm, mentally cursing at his friend, before looking around again.

No trace of Kyungsoo. And they were already supposed to start…

“He’ll come later!” Tao rolled his eyes. “Come on! Can we go now? You can’t keep me after nine! I have…work to do!”

“I told you already! Watching a fashion show is not work!” Kris sneered from beside him, but Kai ignored them. Instead, he sighed out and nodded.

“Yeah. Everybody on the field. He’ll just…join us later, I guess.”

And Kai moved in front of everybody, ignoring some of the sounds his teammates mad. He moved towards the doors for the field , Baekhyun walking beside him, a serious expressions on his face.

“So…”

Kai looked down to him and saw him raising his eyebrows.

“Did you finally fuck up?”

“What the fuck-…no, Baekhyun, I haven’t.” Kai furrowed his brows. He hadn’t right? Yeah…yesterday had been amazing, Kyungsoo had been so happy, everything was alright. Maybe he was just caught up in something, probably some lecture…

And he was just walking down, thinking what he could have eventually done, but he couldn’t’ recall anything. Instead, eh heard a low ‘oh’ – a confused and surprised sound coming from Baekhyun.

And Kai didn’t need any explanations. He only needed to look up to see Kyungsoo standing on the other side of the field, sitting on the first row of the benches, hands brought together, a serious expression on his face. An expression Kai didn’t like. A thousand thoughts passed through his mind, as he shoved his helmet in Baekhyun’s hands.

“Here. I’ll be right back.”

And before the other one could even reply, Kai was jogging forward towards the benches and watched as Kyungsoo looked up and sighed out and Kai only frowned, as he finally reached him and towered over him.

“Are you alright, Soo?” was the first thing he asked, catching the other’s face between his hands. The shorter one just furrowed his brows and nodded.

“I’m fine.” He said, raising a hand to put over Kai’s and push it down. The captain continued looking, as Kyungsoo stood up slowly. “We need to talk, Kai…”

“Kai..” the captain breathed out, lowering his hand, brows furrowed. “What is going on, Kyungsoo? Why aren’t you ready? Where is your jersey?”

“This is what we need to talk about.” Kyungsoo said, breathing in deeply, while Kai only exhaled. He didn’t like the sound of this. “I-..I can’t play.”

“What do you-….what do you mean?” Kai asked, his voice raising a little. “I asked you if you’re alright! You said you’re fine!....Did I…did I hurt you?”

“No, it’s not that, silly.” Kyungsoo smiled bitterly, before sighing out again. “I had to talk to the Principal today. I have…um…remember that boy from the party of Kris?”

“Yes,” Kai cautiously answered.

“Well…he…he had filed a complaint against me for physical assault.” Kyungsoo hissed. “And now I’m suspended. I cannot take part of any activity clubs for one month until they consider my explanation of the matter…including the team.”

And Kai just stood there, eyes glazing as he stared at Kyungsoo, as he was thinking, processing the information.  
And then he snapped.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“I know, I know…Suho was with me and….he tried to explain that we have a game this weekend and next week the finals and it’s all fucked up but the Principal won’t do anything until my complaint gets reviewed by the administration.”

“Did you explain that we do not have a backup center?!” Kai demanded and watched as Kyungsoo somehow seemed smaller, as he nodded.

“Suho explained. He said he can’t do anything about it. And then he went to look for the coach. Maybe they’ll be able to figure something out, I –“

“What the fuck, Kyungsoo?! What am I supposed to do now?!” Kai roared, interrupting him, turning his back on him as he ran a hand through his hair, feeling the urge to kick something. “He can’t just fucking suspend you! If anybody needs to be suspended it’s that jackass!”

“I know! He can cancel my suspension but first they need to revi-“

“I get it!” Kai snapped, running a hand through his hair again, a thousand thoughts clouding his mind. “When? When will that be reviewed?”

“I-…I don’t know. Probably next week…” Kyungsoo barely muttered and Kai felt the storm rising within him.

Next week meant that Kyungsoo would miss the game against TNS this Sunday. This meant that Kai had two days to find another center. To get one of the backup players to do Kyungsoo’s job.

“Damn it!” he snapped, kicking the bench beside Kyungsoo. “What the fuck is wrong with people?!”

“Hey…” Kyungsoo said quietly and Kai felt him approaching him, he could hear the unsure footsteps. “Everything’s going to be alright. You can….you can get Donghae on the front line, right? He can do it instead of me…only for this once, hopefully…”

“Donghae hasn’t trained for a center!”

“But he can do that now!” Kyungsoo reasoned and Kai felt a shaky hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be alright, Jongin, I promise…we will figure this out-“

“We?” Kai sneered, shaking off Kyungsoo’s hand. “I’m the one who has to deal with this mess of a team now, Kyungsoo. Me. Not us. You…just go.”

“But I-“

“Fucking go, Kyungsoo! You’re not helping here like this! You can do nothing for the team!” Kai heard himself saying before even thinking it through. And then he heard a quiet _‘oh’_ and before he knew it Kyungsoo was looking at him with slightly widened eyes, lips pressed together and a hurt expression, that made something in him stir on the inside. And before he could do anything. Apologize, say sorry, anything, Kyungsoo had turned around on his heel, running away.

Kai felt his heart dropping, and he growled again, kicking the bench again.

Before turning around and freezing at the sight of Baekhyun only a meter away from him, a very deep scowl on his face. So he had heard that.

 “For your information…” Baekhyun stepped forward and shoved the helmet with too much power in Kai’s chest, making the captain wince. “You just fucked up.”

* * *

Jongin hadn’t talked to him in two days and Kyungsoo was falling in his own little depression every evening when Baekhyun would come back from the field, totally exhausted, with a very deep scowl on his face.

He was the only person Kyungsoo could ask about the progress during these last days.

And Baekhyun had always been thorough about it, kindly remembering to mention Kai’s name as rarely as possible. And Kyungsoo had to probably thank him someday, for being a good friend. But for now, he had too much shit to deal with.

And that Sunday afternoon, it was the most painful day Kyungsoo recalled having.

He remembered how he used to come to every football game of SM before, because he had to cheer on for his best friend and to steal some glances at Kai.

However, after he’d become a part of the team, he knew these people so well, he got so used to being there, instead of here. On the field, instead of the benches for the audience. And it hurt to sit there and to watch the team getting in position, with another guy in his place, taking his position. Kyungsoo felt like crying.

And it hurt, to watch it all go down.

Donghae was doing a good job, he was doing more than fine, actually. But he hadn’t trained with the guys long enough. He didn’t know everything about their teamwork. It just wasn’t working.

And when the last beep of the counter went off, Kyungsoo shut his eyes closed, watching as most of the front runners slowed down, understanding that there wasn’t any point in chasing the ball anymore. Not after a touchdown.

He was watching as the defense line slowly stepped back, their shoulders slumping.

He was watching as Kai took off his helmet and threw it at the green fields in frustration, pushing Sehun out of his way, as he started retreating towards the locker rooms.

Because when SM lost, all Kyungsoo could do was sigh out, try to contain his tears and look away from the field, where he couldn’t join them.

* * *

Hey, you were all asking for an update, so there you go...I wrote this today, I haven't proof read, I don't even know tbh...

But I hope you will enjoy it! Please comment ^^

Also, i'd have to ask you to be understanding again...I am in university now, and honestly, I have absolutely no time left from studying, and writing this requires time...which I don't have...so please, consider that before asking me again when I'll update or if I've abandoned this. I HAVE NOT! I love this story and I will finish it. It just doesn't depend on me...

Thank you! ^^


	18. -17-

17

 

Kyungsoo was sitting quietly at a table in the cafeteria, looking at his fries with a rather grudgeful expression.

He couldn’t believe that SM had lost the last game. And he just couldn’t stop asking himself what it would have been like if he’d played. What it could have been like if he weren’t suspended and if Donghae hadn’t been rushed to take his position only two days prior. He was wondering whether they could have won and it was slowly driving him crazy.

This, and the fact that Jongin hadn’t even approached him once ever since they last talked on the field – that he hadn’t looked for him after the game, that he hadn’t called him or texted him, not even once. It was breaking Kyungsoo from the inside.

So when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he had to fight his urge to let a profanity roll down his tongue, because he didn’t want anybody disturbing his self-pitying phase. However, he did look up to only have his frown deepening at the sight of a smiling Taemin.

“Hello, Kyungsoo.”

“Hi.”

“Can I sit here?”

“No.”

“Thanks.” The other one replied, pushing Kyungsoo’s bag away from the chair, already placing his tray on the table. The older one only fired a glare in his direction, remaining silent.

The last thing he needed now was Jongin’s best friend.

“So I heard you got suspended,” Taemin leaned down, chewing on a fry lazily, eyes never leaving Kyungsoo’s face. And the only thing the shorter one wanted to do was grab him by the collar and drag him away, or just punch him, because he was having a hard time not thinking about this. Instead, he just rolled his eyes and looked away. “Okay, I see…Jongin’s really pissed, you know.”

“Excuse me,” Kyungsoo shook his head for a second, “Why the fuck are you even here?”

“Oh, Minho’s not coming down for lunch today. I didn’t want to sit all by my myself.”

“Jonghyun and Onew are right over there.”

“You’re very hospitable...”

“Can’t you just let me agonize myself in peace?”

“…and obviously very dramatic.” Taemin grinned.  “Bear with it. So have you actually talked with Jongin these days?”

Kyungsoo’s lips twitched, before they formed a frown on his face again.

“I thought he was telling you everything.”

“Normally. I haven’t talked to him since last Wednesday.” The dancer shrugged. “And better! I don’t wanna talk with that thing after they lost. I don’t even wanna get close to it.”

“It..” Kyungsoo mused and threw a glance at Taemin and his little smirk.

“Yeah. I mean, you can’t really say he’s acting very human-like when he’s on the field, now, can you?”

Kyungsoo ran his tongue over his dry lips, nodding lightly, something in his stirring hysterically, as he eventually looked up to Taemin – probably the first person who could actually see how different Jongin was when he was turning into Kai for the football team. How ambitious, how damn strict and even rude, how commanding he could be. And Kyungsoo’s lips twitched again.

“I guess you’re right.”

“I _am_ right, of course!” Taemin rolled his eyes, grabbing another one from Kyungsoo’s fries. “I mean, Donghae, I don’t even want to think about the poor guy. And the others? Can you even imagine it?”

Kyungsoo sighed out, fingers tapping on the surface of the table.

“Taemin, I really appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but you’re not helping…”

“Trying to make you feel better?” Taemin laughed out and Kyungsoo shot him a glance. “Why’d you think I’d waste my time doing that?”

“I don’t know…just…you’re here and you’re talking about him like this…”

“That’s cause he’s my best friend! And he _is_ an asshole.” Taemin raised his eyebrows lightly. “I mean, can you really say it’s not true?”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth, but then closed it again because there really wans’t anything he could say. Partially, Taemin was right.

“He really isn’t…I mean…Jongin is-“

“Let me stop you right now. I’m talking about Kai here.” The dancer smirked lightly. “And let me tell you, I’ve been his friend for years. I won’t tolerate his shit. This is why I call him Jongin.”

“I don’t see the connection.” Kyungsoo frowned and was about to think of a lame excuse to get away from here, but Taemin only smirked again and took another fry.

“You’re his boyfriend, Kyungsoo…” the dancer raised his eyebrows. “What I’m saying is, I’m not comforting you, I know it probably sucks to be suspended. But if you’re accepting him like that, then you should be grateful you’re not around right now. If not, then you really should step up your game, man. I mean, if he were my boyfriend, I’d expect him to be himself all the time. Jongin, 24/7. Not the asshole he is on the field. Not Kai.”

Kyungsoo felt like he had a lump in his throat, he couldn’t say anything, because he _knew_ that Taemin was right.

What he also knew was that Jongin was responsible for this team and he could also understand that.

But in the end, there was nothing he could do – Jongin, or Kai, whatever, he hadn’t talked to him in days, and Kyungsoo wouldn’t stoop that low – he wouldn’t seek out for him and he wouldn’t call him first. He wouldn’t apologize, he wouldn’t feel bad for something he wasn’t guilty of.

The only thing he could do was wait for the damned complaint to be reviewed as soon as possible.

So when he looked up again and saw Taemin reaching out towards his fries again, the only thing he did was shake his head and sigh out in defeat.

* * *

“I have good news, everybody!” Suho barged into the locker room, waving a folder above his head. And all Kai did was look up kind of spitefully – nothing could be good news, unless Suho managed to create a time machine. He needed to go back in time and slap himself from all the shitty stuff he’d done in the past days. “I managed to pull Kyungsoo’s complaint higher on the list! He may be able to come back before Sunday!”

“That’s all perfect, but he’s missed a week of training…” Chen noted, side-eyeing Kai, who was holding his breath. “Besides, Donghae’s been working his ass off.”

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s fine.” The guy muttered from the corner. “If Kyungsoo can come back it would be so much better.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence and Kai could feel the eyes of the team members slowly turning towards him and he just didn’t know what to do. He was feeling shitty enough already.

He looked up for a brief moment and he met Baekhyun’s eyes and he could only bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something he’d regret. Baekhyun, of course, being Kyungsoo’s best friend, had been here to silently or not so silently criticize him for every damned thing he was doing – for saying those things to Kyungsoo, for not calling him, for not meeting him, for not talking to him, for not apologizing.

And Kai was feeling something sour within himself, something that was bothering him all the time, making his nights sleepless, his days tiring.

And that thing, he identified as regret – he loved Kyungsoo and he had, as Baekhyun had nicely put it, fucked up. Big time. And all he wanted to do was get things back to where they were before.

So he nodded silently, before standing up under everybody’s gazes.

“And when will we know what the Principal says?”

“The coach will go and talk to him tomorrow morning.” Suho cautiously replied. “We’ll know then.”

Kai nodded again. It all depended on his one single sheet of paper that had to be reviewed by the administration of the university. The team’s success, his mental state and his relationship. Everything.

And for some reason, that was making him feel even more regret.

And he didn’t like it.

* * *

Kyungsoo was sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking over and over again about Taemin’s words, about his way of thinking, about his view on things.

And no matter how much he was trying to convince himself that the dancer had no proper point, he just couldn’t. Taemin was simply right – he’d known Jongin for ages, he knew him far better than Kyungsoo did. However, his words, as sharp and as direct as they may have been, were true.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, long enough to let out a shaky sigh, before turning to Baekhyun.

“So how did practice go?”

“You know,” his best friend shrugged from the other bed. “Same old…ah, wait, no…Chen stuck a rubber snake in Tao’s bag. He freaked out, he was screaming like a girl-“

“Why am I not even surprised…” Kyungsoo shook his head, fingers clutching the bed sheet lightly. “And…And Donghae? Is he…improving?”

“I think he’s trying to back out.”

“What?”

“You know. Get kicked off the team or something. Kai wasn’t exactly nice to him after we lost last week.”

“You didn’t tell me that.” Kyungsoo muttered to only have his best friend snorting from the other side of the room.

“Well, excuse me for trying to be a good friend.”

“You don’t suck.” Kyungsoo pushed himself up on his elbows lightly, biting his lower lip while examining Baekhyun’s expression for roughly three seconds. “Anyway, how…how is he doing?”

“God, Kyungsoo….You’re either too nice or too stupid. Why do you even ask?....wait, don’t answer. I don’t need you to get all gushy.” Baekhyun made a vomiting sound which earned him a very sharp look from Kyungsoo. “Anyway, if you want to know stuff like that just talk to him.”

“He’s the one not talking to me.”

“Have you _tried_ approaching him?!”

Kyungsoo, for the second time in just one day, couldn’t get a sound to come out of his mouth. Instead, he let Baekhyun stare him down, before pulling the blanket over his head. He didn’t need that.

Not from his best friend.

* * *

“Hey,” Jonghyun grinned, plopping himself beside Jongin on the bench in the dance studio. It was early in the morning and Jongin had come here after Taemin suggested it – it was better to be in the same room with a few dancers and Jonghyun, than in the full cafeteria where everybody was looking at him and where all the football players were. Somehow a little bit more comfortable. “So Chen told me, that Sehun heard what Suho was telling Luhan, how Baekhyun told Chanyeol what you said to Kyungsoo.”

“What?”

“Baekhyun told Chanyeol and then Suho was telling Luhan and Sehun heard them and Chen told m-“

“No, I mean, why did he tell you that?”

“And why not?” Jonghyun shrugged, before firing a glance towards the football captain. “And I must say, you suck, man.”

Jongin tried to control himself and to ignore the stinging pain in his chest, so he ended up nodding, a frown on his face.

“Thanks.”

“No, really. I just can’t get my head around it. Why’d you tell him something like this?!”

“I didn’t insult him…”

“Worse! You told him you don’t need him!” Jonghyun snapped, then looked around, before toning it down just when Jongin was about to argue that he didn’t say that. “Shut up. I’ve met him once and I feel like I know him better than you, and you’re his boyfriend, for fuck’s sake. It’s obvious that he loves you and football, so why the fuck had you thought that saying this would be a good idea?”

“I didn’t, alright?!” Jongin’s frown deepened, as he stared back. “I was just so angry and confused because of this damned suspension and it just….it just slipped out! I don’t know what I was thinking! But the game was important and you saw what happened and now I have no idea what we’ll do-”

“That’s your fucking problem, Jongin,” the singer sighed out, closing his eyes and leaning against the bench. “You only think about football. About the games.”

“That’s not-“

“It’s true. And you should snap out of it, because this is just a game, Jongin. And you’re going to lose a lot because of it, if you continue being like this.”

Jongin couldn’t do anything, except for stare at the blond male, who was sititng carelessly next to him. He just stared, feeling all sorts of emotions gathering in his chest, threatening to erupt.

“You know nothing about football.” He said at last, Jonghyun cracking an eye open. “And you obviously know nothing about me. “

“I’m your friend, Jongin. I know everything about you.” Jonghyun shrugged, before Jongin felt two sharp eyes staring at him, and he felt like they were examining his soul. “But about that lunatic _Kai_ …you’re right. I know nothing about that guy.”

* * *

Jongin was rushing through the field towards the locker rooms, hand gripping the sack with his football attire tightly, a very deep scowl on his face.

And he was walking and walking, almost to the point of jogging, until he reached the building and stormed inside, towards the locker rooms. And just as he was about to barge inside, another figure came out, causing them to almost bump at each other.

“Suho!” the quarterback mused, stopping in his place. “I was just looking for you!”

“Me too! It’s important, Kai!”

“Me first!” the captain interrupted. “Do you think I might have a multiple-personality disorder?”

“A mul- _what?!_ What the fuck?”

“ I know it sounds insane, but I am serious right now!” the captain bit on is lower lip for a second. “I was told the same thing about four times today and I think I’m going crazy.”

“Kai…seriously…you’re insane.”

“ _Exactly_. And you’re a psychology major!”

“OK, you’re creeping me out. Do you remember everything you’ve done in the past few days?”

“Yes.”

“And there aren’t any blank moments? Do you hear voices?”

“No, and no.”

“Then you’re fine! Jesus…” Suho furrowed his brows and crossed his hands in front of his chest, before sighing out. “What is going on with you?”

“Well, people kept on saying I am not-….they kept on saying I’m not the same person when I am here, that I…that I change!”

“Yes. That doesn’t make you a person with a dissociative identity disorder. Only an asshole.”

“Wow. I expected support at least from you.”

“OK, can you shut up now and let me talk? This is important! The complaint of Kyungsoo has been reviewed and his suspension is being lifted from next week.”

Jongin’s brain was working so damn hard, that he could almost hear it processing the information, before he glared at Suho and snapped.

“NEXT WEEK?! That’s after the game!”

“You know, probably that’s what the people mean when they say you’re cr-”

“Suho!”

“OK, OK, have a little patience and let me finish!” the coach assistant raised his eyebrows. “I met the Principal with the coach, we explained how important the game is. He said he can’t lift the suspension earlier, because Kyungsoo _did_ break that dude’s nose…”

“And?”

“Patience, Kim Kai! We convinced him to think about it and he got back to us just now. He’s pulling it with one day, so that Kyungsoo can play on Sunday.”

And Jongin just stood there, blinking blankly a few times, before he lunged forward to pull Suho in his hands for a probably very tight and suffocating embrace.

“I love you, Suho, you have no idea how much I love you!”

“The word you’re thinking about it ‘appreciate’, not ‘love’. Let go! I don’t need Kyungsoo breaking _my_ nose, as well!” Suho muttered, but there was a small smile on his face as he jugged his chin at the direction of the door. “What are you still doing here? I thought you have a player to recruit.”

Jongin could only let his smile spread on his lips, before he patted Suho’s back again and before, once again, he was dashing out of the place.

And the coach assistant chuckled quietly to himself and shook his head, thinking how damn much a person could change in just a few seconds. That was, before a head popped out from the door beside him and he had the shock of his life.

“I swear to everything holy out there, Oh Sehun, I will kill you someday.”

“You love me.” the youngest team player replied cheekily, before looking down to the assistant. “Do you seriously think he doesn’t have a mental problem?”

“You heard that?” Suho raised an eyebrow, before smirking and shaking his head. “Of course he doesn’t. Does he look crazy to you?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Sehun…”

“I’m just saying that he does seem quite crazy to me. He’s always been weird, but these last few days….I don’t know, man…”

And Suho could only smile once again, leaning against the door frame.

“There’s a difference between being crazy and being ambitious. And there’s definitely a difference between being ambitious and realizing that it’s affecting others negatively.”

“Can you speak human, please?”

Suho rolled his eyes, before shooting Sehun a look.

“He’s crazy, yes. But he’s crazy because he’s in love and because he is afraid. Not because there’s some psychopathic soul living inside of him.”

It was silent for a few moments, and both of them were staring at the exit to the field, before Sehun shook his head, a few light bangs falling in his eyes.

“I don’t know…he kind of looks like it, doesn’t he?”

Suho rolled his eyes again, before pushing himself of the wall and towards the coach’s office.

With Kyungsoo back for this week’s game, he had some work to do. He hadn’t opened the game book in quite some time…

* * *

Kyungsoo was walking to his next class in that afternoon, trying to ignore the people around. And even when he heard some commotion behind himself, he didn’t turn around – he couldn’t care less about the dramas on campus. He had his own right now.

However, he couldn’t just not freeze in his spot, when he heard a very familiar, a ery loving, yet rough voice say a very harsh ‘Out of my way!’ behind him and just as he was about to turn around to inspect the situation, Jongin was already standing next to him, breathing heavily, because he’d been running, a small smile on his face, as he spread out his hand towards Kyungsoo, handing him an ice cone.

“Mint and chocolate for me and cotton candy for you, right?”

Kyungsoo breathed out, eyes darting up to the captains face – a calm mask with a small smile, a very real smile that he enjoyed seeing. A very beautiful fae only centimeters away. He’d missed him so much.

And he wanted to just drop his bag and wrap his hands around Jongin’s neck, to pull him close and kiss him, to just hold him tight. But he couldn’t. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he took the ice cream with a rather shaky hand, before looking up again.

“Can we talk?” Kai said quietly, the smile darkening a little and the brows furrowing. The center only nodded briefly, once, he didn’t trust himself to do more. “Look, I wanted to apologize…I was acting like a total douchebag and I just….I just hope you can forgive me for what I said.”

“You forgot the sprinkles.” Kyungsoo muttered instead, fingers tightening around the cone, when Jongin shone him a crooked smirk.

“I won’t forget next time.”

“There will be a next time?” Kyungsoo questioned and finally looked up fully, lips pursed into a tight line, as he watched Jongin’s smile fading. “Why are you here, Jongin?”

“I-….I told you! I wanted to apologize!”

“And you decided to do it now, after I’ve had my suspension lifted for the game on Sunday?” Kyungsoo felt his eyebrows rising up his forehead with every passing second. “You couldn’t do it before?”

“Kyungsoo, I-“ the captain started, but then closed his mouth, shut his eyes. “Look, I really know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have acted like this. I just…I just wanted us to do well.”

“You said there’s no us, right?”

“Kyungsoo, cut me some slack!” Jongin groaned out and Kyungsoo would have probably given in, if it weren’t for Taemin’s words echoing in his mind. “I apologized! What do you expect me to do?!”

The shorter one nodded, looking away fro a second, blinking away the wetness in his eyes.

“Let me rephrase then. Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I know I fucked up. I know it wasn’t your fault, yet I said everything and I just-…I regret it! I care about you, Kyungsoo! I care about you so damn much and I regret saying those things to you!”

“You know what, Jongin?” the shorter one started, eyes glued on the taller one’s face. “I love you. There, I said it. I love you. And just because I love you, it hurts.”

He watched as Jongin’s expression changed probably five time sin the range of three seconds. However, when the taller one opened his mouth, probably ready to talk, Kyungsoo raised a hand to stop him.

“And just because I love you, I feel like my whole being is being shattered. And this isn’t the first time you’ve done this. It probably won’t be the last, Jongin.”

“Kyungsoo, you can’t say that!” the taller one finally interrupted him, a very lost look in his eyes. A very horrified, a very sad glint that Kyungsoo had to look away from.

“Yes, I can.” The sorter one nodded and heaved a sigh. “If you cared about me you would have apologized sooner. If you did, you wouldn’t have said that in the first place.”

Kyungsoo fastened his grip on the stripe of the bag, biting on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from letting out a whine, to stop himself from getting teary eyed. To stop himself from feeling so damn much.

“Kyungsoo…” when Jongin breathed out his name in a broken, shushed matter, the shorter one looked up to see a mask of absolute agony on they younger’s face. “What are you even saying? Of course I care about you! You have no idea just how much-“

“Let’s not do this, OK?” Kyungsoo interrupted, finally locking eyes with Jongin. “About the game, don’t worry. I will be there tomorrow for the training. And as for us…”

“Kyungsoo, don’t-“

“I just need some time to think, OK?” the shorter one let it out quietly, looking away at the same time he heard Jongin breathing out. “And I feel like you need some time to think, too.”

Kyungsoo grasped the strap again, pushing the ice cream cone back in Kai’s hand, without looking up, without looking at his face, because he felt that if he did see him now, he’d start crying.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, cap.”

And with that, he was running away from the valley in the university’s campus, leaving the captain behind with two cones of melting ice cream in his hands and a very, very broken, shattered heart.

_What had he done?_

* * *

“He broke up with me!” Jongin wailed, pressing the pillow against his face again, trying to ignore the way Taemin rolled his eyes.

“For the thousandth time, he didn’t break up with you!”

“He said he needed time to think! That’s the same thing!” Jongin replied weakly. “I love him, Taemin, and it hurts.”

“You’re the most stupid creature on the face of earth I’ve had the displeasure to know.” The dancer snorted, before throwing a pen at his best friend, who only gave him the stinky eye. “I told you! That’s not a break up! It’s obvious that Kyungsoo loves you! And he told you! So instead of whining do something about it or at least think about your stupid game….it’s the first time I’m seeing you like this…”

“You’re not helping!” Jongin gripped the pillow again, shutting his eyes closed. “He left me there and I…I apologized! I wanted to make everything better, but-“

“Look, Jongin, shut up and listen. You’ve been an asshole for too damn long. To the team, to some of the students, even to Kyungsoo. And you can’t just expect him to keep on taking it. If he does, he’ll just break.”

“But-“

“He is giving you a chance, you dumbass, can’t you see?” Taemin stood up from the chair at the desk and frowned at Jongin, who removed the pillow from his face, brows furrowed in Taemin’s direction, interest showing on his features, as the older one crossed his hands in front of his chest. 

“He’s giving you a chance to prove yourself. To finally love him right.”

* * *

Woooooooo, that's lame haha

But I guess that's what my brain can make after an entire week non-stop studying, so excuse me ;-;

Anyway, I am always very, very grateful for your comments, for subscribers and for all the people on here who keep being so nice to me, THANK YOU! This is really amazing, I still can't believe how many people are reading this story :')

Once again, I don't know how fast my update will be, but I hope you will stick with me until then! ^^ Thank you, lovelies! xox

 


	19. -18-

18

“Okay, I have a question,” Suho raised an eyebrow. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

“Are you feeling well?”

“Yes.”

Kai stared down at the smaller man, who blinked twice before raising his hand to the quarterback’s face, a hand sprawled on his forehead, the other one on his cheek. And it wasn’t that much of a fight to get rid of him, Jongin only had to shake him off  with a _‘Dude, what the fuck are you doing?’_ and to have him staring at him with a  doubting expression.

“There’s something wrong with you. You don’t have fever. Did you drink something?”

“No. Look, I’m perfectly fine, alright? Sane, too.”

“I doubt that. And you’re trying to tell me that you’re not intoxicated with anything? No alcohol, no drugs? Medicine?”

“Suho, stop.”

And finally, _finally_ , the coach’s assistant stilled down, hands crossed in front of his chest, a disapproving scowl evident on his face.

“Then I have one question. Are you fucking nuts?”

“No!” the reply came faster than Kai had thought, in the same time he furrowed his brows and let out a sigh. “Probably. I don’t know. Maybe I am. But I need to finally do something right.”

“And you think that leaving the team is right?”

“I _know_ it is not!” Kai almost whined, before shutting his eyes closed, trying to refrain himself from grimacing. “But I need to prove to Kyungsoo...to everyone, that I am not only what they see on that field. I…I love football, okay, but people are right. I need to….stop.”

“And you think this is proving anything?” the younger one was watching Suho’s eyebrows rising more and more. “This is idiotic, Kai! Besides, you can’t do it! You’re the captain of the team, you can’t just get out of the team like that.”

“Actually, I can.” The taller one shrugged. “It’s in the rulebook. I just need to give my resignation letter.”

“You mean this piece of crap?” Suho frowned and looked at the letter that the captain had handed him earlier. “I’m not giving it to him. You’re not leaving this team. And you’re not leaving this room until you explain why you thought that was in any way logical.”

“Don’t go all psychologist on me. Get your PhD first.”

“Kim Kai, I swear to God…..you’ve worked your ass off for this team. You’re the best quarterback SM’s had in ages! And you formed this team! You made everyone work as one! And you’re saying you want to let it all go just a few days before the end?”

“I don’t think you understand, Suho…my relationship is on the line because of this. _Because of me_. And my friendships too, I can’t-“

“You can.” Suho shot him a look, before tightening his fingers around the letter, making it a crumpled mess of a sheet. “And you will.”

“Suho-“

“Kai.” The older one interrupted and there was silence for a few moments. “You have a training in fifteen minutes.”

And Jongin just bit on the inside of his cheek.

It had taken him so much to gather up the courage to do this, to finally stand up against himself. And now Suho was saying it wasn’t right. Well, damn it, then what was right? What could he fucking do?

Because after he’d been told no once, he knew that he wouldn’t dare do this again. He loved the team, he loved playing football. So if he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly.

And the practice was just in a few minutes…the others were already getting ready. And he closed his eyes, as the thought started creeping in his mind _. Just don’t show up._

“And Kai…” Suho said and the captain cracked an eye open to look at his friend before leaving the room. “If you believe in me and in our friendship and if you even care about my advice, then listen to me just for once. You need to be there. The wolves of SM aren’t a pack without their leader.”

Jongin let out a breath he’d been holding in, before letting his shoulders slump down. _He just couldn’t do it_. He couldn’t turn away.

“Alright,” he nodded weakly. “I’ll see you on the field.”

* * *

Kyungsoo was tired from last night – the practice had been hard, long, Kai hadn’t looked particularly cheerful and neither had Suho. If anything, Kyungsoo thought Suho looked concerned. Maybe he needed to find the assistant later, make sure everything was alright with him.

However, he had his own worries at the moment – he had a ton of homework to write, but thinking about Newton’s interpolation was the last thing on his mind, and the library just looked so nice, so quiet, so peaceful. As if it was trying to convince Kyungsoo that there was nothing wrong with closing his eyes for a few minutes, letting himself rest.

However, that would be stupid, Kyungsoo knew. If he let himself fall asleep now, he wouldn’t be able to wake up anytime soon and he’d lose all these hours doing nothing.

So instead of doing that, with a small sigh, he tapped his pen on the empty papers again and turned his head to the pile of books waiting for him to gather the will to pull one of them in front of himself.

And when he came back to his room that evening, after five hours of reading and studying, with a faint headache and a strong urge to just sleep, he was very displeased to hear moans from his room before he even reached the door. A grunt escaped his throat as he slammed the door twice.

“I’m coming in after a minute so you better be dressed and ready to leave Park Chanyeol, or I swear to fucking God….”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes when he heard a faint chuckle from inside the room, followed by a groan and a series of curses, that Kyungsoo didn’t really need to hear to know that they were directed towards him.

And just when he was about to bang on the door again after a few moments, the wood swung back and the tall figure of Park Chanyeol appeared in front of him – a hastily dragged on T-shirt, pants that looked kind of baggy and shoes with untied shoelaces.

“Hello, sunshine.”

“Fuck off.” Kyungsoo muttered, as he shoved him to the side and entered his room, nose scrunching in the direction of Baekhyun’s bed. He stealthily ignored his best friend, only wearing a hugely oversized shirt, he ignored the way they were gushing at the doorstep for another two minutes and he definitely ignored the fact that he saw Park fucking Chanyeol’s hands squeezing Baekhyun’s ass right in front of him. Or at least he chose to ignore it. He didn’t need that sort of negativity in his life. Not now.

And eventually, when the tall front runner finally left and Baekhyun emerged back in the room with a dazed smile and disgustingly disheveled hair, screaming _‘I just had sex’_ , Kyungsoo found it impossible to stop himself from sneering.

“You’re so gross.”

“Don’t act like you’re a saint.”  
“At least I don’t walk in front of you half naked!” Kyungsoo blinked and finally looked towards his desk. “Go put on some pants. You’re distracting me.”

“ _Oh, no_ …”Baekhyun sounded horrified for a second, maybe the only reason Kyungsoo turned his head to check on him, because hey! He was a good friend. And Baekhyun did sound shocked. But as soon as he looked there and saw a little, taunting smile, he regretted it. “Don’t tell me you’ve got the hots for me. I mean, you’re one fine peace of human, Soo, but I’ve got Chanyeol, thanks.”

“Baekhyun, you’re such a-“

“Take a joke…” the older one rolled his eyes, before plopping himself on his own bed. “Anyway, why did you take so long? Your laptop drove me insane. Besides, who even goes studying without their laptop?”

“People who do not want to get distracted.”

“Right. Anyway, your messenger was going crazy in the afternoon. I never thought somebody would write to you that much.”

And when Kyungsoo shot a dirty look towards his friend for the shady comment, he only saw him raising his eyebrows at him with a mild expression of interest.

“Do you think it’s Kai?”

“Baekhyun-“

“No, really. I mean, I really don’t know anybody else who’d write to you so persistently.”

And Kyungsoo didn’t really have a reply for that. Some part of him was jumping excitedly, telling him to hurry, because it could be Jongin! It could be him…But then another part of him was trying to keep him sane, rational. After what he’d told him the other day, he couldn’t really be writing to him, could he?

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” He mumbled and pulled his laptop towards himself, quickly typing in his password. And when he opened the window, he saw messages from only one person.

And one part of him cheered in relief, because it wasn’t Kai. But another part of him, a slightly bigger one, shattered, _because it wasn’t Kai_.

“It’s Suho.” He said rather drily to Baekhyun, who was waiting on the other side of the room.  And after seeing his shoulders slump down in disappointment, he turned back to his computer, letting out a sigh as he looked to the top of the messages.

 

**  $uho:** Kyungsoo, are you here?

**$uho:** …hello?

**$uho:** OK, anyway, look…

**$uho:** I know that you and Kai aren’t exactly getting perfectly along at the moment, but I need your help.

 

The center almost snorted when reading the message. _‘Not getting perfectly along’_. Trust Suho to twist everything into something more positive. However, he looked back to the screen, intrigued, slightly frightened, but curious.

 

**$uho:** I don’t think you realize this, but Jongin is going through a very, very hard period right now because of everything –

     he is really pressured because of the games, because of schoolwork. Hell, even because of us, his friends. It all get overwhelming,

     you know.

**$uho:** And he is blaming himself now for everything. I talked to him yesterday and to be honest, Kyungsoo, I am concerned.

 

And the center’s heart clenched in his ribcage, he found himself unable to breathe properly, as he continued to read down the rows of Suho’s messages.

 

**$uho:** He said he wanted to prove to you and to everybody else that he wasn’t what people think he is. And Kyungsoo, 

     correct me if I’m wrong, but you as his boyfriend should know that there’s nothing wrong with him. Nothing he needs to 

     change. At least not drastically. 

**$uho:** What I’m trying to say is…can you talk to him?

**$uho:** I just feel like he really needs that right now.

**$uho:** And maybe you do, too, Kyungsoo….

 

Kyungsoo let out a breath when he finished, suddenly feeling awake. A tickling sensation was making its way to his chest, a sticky, tingly, suffocating feeling, that he recognized as guilt.

And he needed to remind himself again and again, that there was nothing to feel guilty for, because it wasn’t his damned fault that things turned out like this. And he tried, and that feeling was growing into something else, into something foggy, even more suffocating – concern.

So before he could even register what he was doing, he had grabbed his keys again, standing up hurriedly.

“And where the fuck are you going now? What happened?”

“I’m going to see Jongin.”

“Wh-…what the hell…” Baekhyun uttered, but Kyungsoo didn’t have time for explaining his irrational decisions. Instead, he hurried towards the door, deliberately leaving his laptop open, because he knew that his roommate wouldn’t shut up until he found of everything. It was just easier to let him read it all. “YOU KNOW, YOU’RE BEING AN ASSHOLE, KYUNGSOO! IF YOU’RE LEAVING FIVE MINUTES AFTER COMING BACK HOME THEN WHY’D YOU INTERRUPT ME AND CHANYEOL? OH YOU OWE ME SO MUCH…”

He urge to turn back around in the hallway and to punch Byun Baekhyun had never been easier to ignore.

* * *

“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” Jongin let out a sigh, as another series of bangs resounded through the room. Yixing was showering, so he couldn’t possibly open the door. He couldn’t probably even hear it. And getting up from bed just seemed so unappealing. However, with a grunt, he raised himself in one swift movement, not minding his shirtless body, as he approached the door and pulled it open to only blink twice in complete shock because the last person he’d been expecting was Kyungsoo. “O-oh...Soo…”

“I’m here to talk to you.” He heard the shorter one, noticing how their eyes weren’t completely meeting. And he could already feel his heart racing, because everything he wanted to do was to lunge forwards, grab the smaller body between his hands, pull it closer. However, he couldn’t do that. “Can I come in?”

Jongin just stepped out of the way, opening the door wider, letting Kyungsoo slip past him into the messy room, and his eyes didn’t leave him, not even once, as he pushed the door and approached him.

“I’m…uh…sorry for the mess…we didn’t really, uh,  expect visitors…”

Jongin felt a little part of him tingling when he saw the corner of Kyungsoo’s lip lifting up slightly, and it was almost unnoticeable and for a person who didn’t know Kyungsoo then it probably didn’t mean anything, but to Jongin it meant the world.

“That’s alright.”

“Yeah…” Jongin nodded vaguely, finding himself unable to look away, feeling so nervous just standing there. How the tables have turned. “So…”  
“So…” Kyungsoo said, turning towards him, hands swaying on both sides of his tinier body, fingers tightened into fists.

“What did you want to talk about?”

And he eventually froze, when Kyungsoo completely stilled down and finally looked him in the eyes, some sort of solidness in the brown eyes.

“Me. You. Us. Football. I don’ know. Something. Everything. You pick.”

“OK…” Jongin nodded, brows slightly furrowed,a s he watched Kyungsoo taking a seat on the chair at his desk. He followed suit, carefully sinking down on his bed, eyes exploring Kyungsoo’s calm face. “Let’s talk then.”

“Let’s talk…” the shorter one nodded, fingers fidgeting nervously, Jongin could see that. He could also see the way Kyungsoo was occasionally biting his lip, brows slightly furrowed. He knew Kyungsoo, he knew he was worried, unsure. “I don’t think this is working. Me and you, like this. I just…it isn’t normal to not have you around.”

“Oh….” Jongin let out a breath, feeling like somebody had kicked him right in the chest. “Well…if it means anything to you, I’ll just let you know that I feel the same way about you. I just feel so…so empty without you, Soo…”

“And that is a good thing, or?”

“It’s not a good thing.” Jongin frowned, shaking his head slightly. “It’s driving me crazy to see you every day and to not be able to tell you everything I want to tell you and not to come closer to you, to hold you…I just….I screwed up everything, didn’t I?”

“We all need to realize our mistakes before we try to fix them,” the shorter one let out quietly, eyes buried in the ground, as he shrugged. “And I think you’re rushing it. You’re trying to fix it without even understanding it.”

“I know where I screwed up, Soo. I shouldn’t have been such an asshole to you. To the other players, too, I shouldn’t have acted like this, I just-“

“You’ve understood nothing, Jongin.” Kyungsoo shook his head lightly, a very small, faint smile on his lips, as he looked at the younger one. “This isn’t about me or about the guys. It’s about you. You’re the one who needs to see what you want to do. Nobody else can do it for you. You should sort out your priorities by yourself and when I’m saying that I’m not telling you to choose between us or the game. Because that is wrong. I’m just talking about finding that balance here.”

Jongin was left confused by the words, his mind was spinning.

“And how do I do that?” he croaked out to have another small smile from Kyungsoo in return.

“We start with me apologizing.” He said quietly, barely inaudibly. “It was wrong of me to expect you to change. I just realized it a couple minutes ago when I was thinking how it sucked to not have you and your dumb jokes around for so long. I don’t want that to change.”

“Good!” Jongin breathed out. “Amazing. Because I don’t want that to change either!....Not the jokes, I mean-“

“I know what you mean. “ Kyungsoo nodded, before tilting his head lightly. “And now we’re balanced for the moment. You acted like a dick, then you apologized, but I acted like a child and didn’t accept it. Now I apologize, so we’re over with this one.”

“Does this mean…we’re together again?”

“Were we ever not?”

“I don’t…I don’t really know, the way you talked the other day.”

“Let’s just start again, shall we?” Kyungsoo sighed out and when he looked up he was smiling, a heart shaped smile Jongin had been longing to see for days now, was now gracing the lips of his beloved one, making something in his stomach flutter. “I’m Do Kyungsoo, nice to meet you.”

“Hello…” the younger one breathed out. “I’m Kim Jongin and I am crazy in love with you.”

“Do you tell this to everybody when you meet them?”

“Only if I feel it.” The captain smiled in return, finally feeling some boulder falling off his shoulders. “And now what?”

“Now we can make out?”

“Do you do this with everybody when you meet them?”

“Only if they tell me they love me.” Kyungsoo smiled and Jongin finally felt some wave crashing inside of him, washing away every single worry he’d had. Kyungsoo was his, that hasn’t changed. Kyungsoo loved him, and he loved him just as much. More even.

Because for the first time in more than a week, Jongin finally let himself raise his hand to Kyungsoo’s face, to eagerly run his thumb over the cheekbone, to feel a smaller hand grabbing his, to finally feel the warmth he’d been craving. He let his fingers trace down the lines of Kyungsoo’s face, of his lips, taking in everything because only now did it hit him…he’d missed him so much. Only now did he realize just how amazingly lonely it had been without Kyungsoo by his side.

And he spent another ten seconds expressing his gratitude to all spiritual beings up there, that had listened to his prayers and requests, that had made this happen, because this could only be a miracle.

And his heart was beating faster, when one of Kyungsoo’s tiny hands moved to his chest, as their bodies were getting closer and closer, their lips only inches apart. Jongin could already feel the breath of Kyungsoo tickling his skin, he could feel his heat. And they were just about ti finally kiss, when-

“Oh!” a voice resounded through the room and both of them jumped back, surprised by the sudden appearance of Yixing, with a towel lazily wrapped around his waist, dripping wet hair and a mild, confused smile. “Sorry guys, didn’t mean to interrupt you. I didn’t expect you here tonight, Soo, not after-…well, you know.”

“Very nice, Lay, thank you,” Jongin grumbled, tossing a T-shirt in his roommate’s direction. “And put something on. I don’t need my boyfriend staring at other men walking around half naked.”

“I wasn’t staring.” Kyungsoo huffed, then rolled his eyes. “Besides, with Byun Baekhyun as my roommate, Yixing coming out of shower shouldn’t be your biggest problem.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

And Jongin stood there, waiting for and answer he didn’t receive. Instead, he saw the true smile on Kyungsoo’s lips once again, a very happy, very cheerful one, as he laughed quietly, standing up from the chair.

“Nothing.” He shook his head lightly, as he leaned in and before Jongin knew it, Kyungsoo’s hand was pushing away a bang from his face, as he leaned down to press his lips against his forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“And don’t forget what I told you.”

Jongin nodded again. Balance. Right. He could do that. And when he looked up again, Kyungsoo was already moving towards the door, which motivated him to stand up, as well, walking after him and holding the door open, as the shorter one went out.

“Hey, Soo…” he said quietly, calmly, watching the other one turn to the side to just look at him with raised eyebrows. He just shrugged. “Thank you….for this chance, for everything…I really love you…you should know that.”

Another small, mild smile. A reassuring one.

“Oh, I know.”

* * *

The first time Kyungsoo noticed something was wrong was on when people in the university were seen talking in small groups, excitedly buzzing around the fields of the campus, being way too energetic for Kyungsoo to accept that early in the morning.

The second time he noticed something was definitely not right was when he walked past a group of girls, hearing them excitedly screeching about the upcoming football match in two days. It would have been really flattering if they were cheering for their own team, but when he heard one of them letting out a very loud ‘JIYONG’, followed by deafening screams, Kyungsoo realized it was not the case.

The third and final time he knew something had happened, was when he walked in the locker room for their practice and had to face a bunch of half naked men, heatedly discussing something.

“Hi,” he muttered as soon as he reached his locker and looked at his roommate, who seemed ready to fight. “Did I miss something?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, before sighing out.

“Of course you wouldn’t know. Do you live under a rock, Kyungsoo?”

“Under a pile of books, actually.”

“YG’s team is arriving tomorrow. Everybody’s going crazy…”

“Right…” Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows. “And why is that such an issue?”

“Honestly, Soo….they’re hot. And they’re the last year’s winners. And they’re hot.”

Kyungsoo furrowed his brows, not really understanding what all the fuss was about, as he proceeded to prepare himself for the practice, listening to people arguing around the room. He was in the middle of attaching his shoulder pads when he heard another declaration resound through the room.

“And I heard Jiyong is in charge again.” Kris lazily announced. “Obviously the university let him off the hook after all the incidents.”

“I heard people talking about him today.” Kyungsoo declared quietly, several heads turning towards him, as he shrugged. “Some girls were talking about him. Who is he?”

“Not somebody who should concern you.” The deep voice startled Kyungsoo as he turned around and saw Jongin and Suho standing by the door of the locker rooms, a very stoic expression on the captain’s face.

“Not somebody who should concern him?” Chen raised an eyebrow. “Sure, I’d like to see how he wouldn’t concern him on Sunday when we’ll have to face them.”

“Alright then,” Kai shrugged and Kyungsoo looked towards him again. “He’s a self-loving, full of ego bastard whose name I don’t want to hear in this room.”

“And he’s YG’s captain.” Suho added, after a very sharp look towards Kai, who rolled his eyes.

“Vain and lewd.”

“Absolutely brilliant,” Tao interjected. “He is one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever seen.”

“Shut your trap, Zitao.” Kai frowned in his direction, before shooting a look towards Kyungsoo. “No, seriously, he isn’t your concern. He’s mine.”

“Someone’s still sour that he lost against him _one freaking year ago_ ,” Baekhyun raised his eyebrows and earned himself a snarl, before Kai announced that he was going to get the ball. And Kyungsoo was just sitting there, a small smile threatening to break on his face, as he turned towards his best friend, whose lingering gaze he was feeling on his temple.

“You seriously need to calm your man’s tits.” Baekhyun announced. “I don’t even get why he’s jealous. Like, dude….”

“Jealous?” Kyungsoo chuckled, shaking his head. “Is that guy seriously that good?”

“Well he definitely doesn’t suck…”

“So just another football player?”

“Well…you could say so, yeah….”

“Well maybe he should feel jealous,” Kyungsoo declared, finally releasing the strap of his shoulder pad, a small taunting smile playing on his lips, thought about how foolish and childish his boyfriend could be erupting in his mind. “Just another football player…I think I might have a type, after all, Baek…”

And it was roughly three seconds later that Kyungsoo turned around to collect his stuff back in the backpack and when he flinched away because of Baekhyun’s sudden scream.

“HELP! I THINK MY ROOMMATE IS GAY FOR ME!”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile and enter the field with a positive attitude, to only have himself getting concerned with every passing second because of Kai’s sulky face, telling them to repeat the laps, to gather over, look at the formations.

Kyungsoo was observing him, taking notice of the nervous way he was puffing air out during uneven intervals of time, eyes wandering around the entire field, and he could only stop at one point, wonder why exactly he was so nervous.

To have two eyes stopping on him, two brown eyes he could stare at forever, but when the eyebrows on the face raised in an unspoked question, the center could only sigh out on his own turn and continue with the laps.

* * *

“The Red Capes are coming…the Red Capes are coming….” Chanyeol declared, eyes focusing at the other side of the cafeteria, as most of the guys, including Kyungsoo, stared to see a bunch of guys entering the room, being exceptionally loud, yet somehow cool. However, with his side vision, Kyungsoo noted the way Xiumin whipped his head towards Chanyeol with squinted eyes and a frown.

“Busta, they’re not even British.”

“What?” Chanyeol seemed beyond confused and it was Kyungsoo’s turn to roll his eyes and watch XIumin blinking blankly twice, before sighing out.

“Don’t tell me. You’ve been on a Superman marathon again, haven’t you?”

“I might have been…” Chanyeol answered, a defensive undertone in his voice. “That’s what happens when your boyfriend’s keeping you dry.”

“I told you already, stop being so salty about it!” Baekhyun hissed from beside him. “I’m not making sex until after the game!”

“Damn right you aren’t.” Kai spoke up and Kyungsoo finally looked back to the table, eyes lighting up with interest. “I swear if any of you is out of shape tomorrow, I’ll personally kill you and then I’ll chase you in hell to kill you all over again.”

“Honestly, Kai, chill. You have to keep this grudge low. Just because they won the last game….you’re such a kid.” Suho sighed out, pushing his mostly finished salad away. “Anyway, I’ll go review the formations with the coach one more time. I’ll see you guys later at the field, OK?”

Kyungsoo nodded vaguely, looking abck towards the very interesting group of guys – absolutely different, some tall, some shorter, absolutely different styles, absolutely different demeanor, absolutely different expressions, obviously different feelings about eh surroundings – the competing school, Most of them seems calm, some were looking around, and there were also a few smiling and interacting with students, obviously friends with them. And Kyungsoo just cocked his head.

This couldn’t really be that bad, right?

* * *

Kyungsoo felt a small smile playing on his lips. He definitely hadn’t expected Kai to end their practice like this – he hadn’t expected him to gather them around, tell them they did a very good job. He seriously didn’t. He was expecting him to scream at them to get rest for the coming day, not to ask them all out to the bar for a quick beer before going back to the dorms. All on him.

Kyungsoo definitely hadn’t expected that.

But there they were, sitting in a booth of the bar they always went to, each of them holding a beer in hand, lively chattering resounding through the table.

“…so Jonghyun actually did tell everybody they’re dating and I think everybody knew already, except for Key, because he seems just utterly confused with the situation.” Suho was telling. “I mean, he’s trying to pretend he’s angry, but he likes it….”

Kyungsoo was trying to pay attention to every conversation, he was trying to take part, to have fun, to just not think about the upcoming game tomorrow, not to think about anything, if they did lose.

He was just trying to enjoy the evening, before he’d go to bed earlier to get just enough sleep.

And everything was going according to his plan, and Kai’s probably, until the doors of the bar opened and a loud group entered, wearing the red varsity jackets of YG University, a very overwhelming feeling washing over Kyungsoo as soon as he saw them standing there.

“What did I fucking tell you about the red cloaks…” he heard Chanyeol mutter on the side, but he didn’t even bother paying attention. He was a little busy watching the group of guys watching around, as one of them focused their eyes on them and a smile broke out on his face. A smile that Kyungsoo wouldn’t definitely describe as friendly.

And next thing he knew they were walking towards their booth, Kai was tensing up beside him and all Kyungsoo could do was move his hand to his boyfriend’s thigh, squeezing lightly to remind him to behave.

Next thing he felt was Jongin’s hand resting on top of his, entwining their fingers, just when the little group of men stopped in front of them, a guy with sunglasses, although they were in a dark bar, and hair with a crazy red color standing at the front.

“Hello there,” he greeted. “Didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”

“Well, we are in _our_ campus.”  Suho smiled, but Kyungsoo saw something forced In that expression of his. “How have you been doing? Are you ready for the game?”

”Always.” The same guy shone a smile and Kyungsoo finally let out a breath,a ssuming this was the captain of the team, who looked around them, before finally lifting his sunglasses. And what he saw, he definitely couldn’t understand. There was absolutely nothing about this boy that made him seem rude in any way possible, which caused him to smile and to look down. Kai really was such a kid. “I see you have new recruits.”

Kyungsoo looked up to see the man staring at him and he immediately felt somehow overwhelmed. He didn’t like being the center of attention. Not like this.

“Same could be said for you,” Kai said, grip tightening around Kyungsoo’s hand. “ I heard you got yourself new front runners.”

“Yes,” the man at the front looked to the side, towards two of the younger looking guys, probably first years. “Bobby and B.I. impressed during the previous games of the championship. They deserve to play at the finals. Happily, the only people we needed to replace were ones who graduated, not ones who….left.”

Now, Kyungsoo wasn’t really sure what was going on, he knew that Moonkyu had left the team, but he sure didn’t expect somebody else to point it out. And he didn’t expect Jongin’s grip on his hand tightening.

What he didn’t expect was Suho’s smile evaporating, the chattering on the table dying out.

“It’s OK, though, I hear you’re good…Kyungsoo, right?” the red haired man smiled and he looked so genuinely sincere that Kyungsoo almost bought it for a second. “I hear, one of the best players on the team. There are a lot of things I’ve heard about you.”

“Funny.” The center heard himself saying without even registering the thought. “I didn’t even know who you were until yesterday.”

He didn’t expect the silence to become even more burdening, something in the glint of those eyes that were piercing him to change. He only knew that he’d screwed up. Maybe a little. The last thing he should have been doing now was fueling the fire.

“You know what, I think we’ve had enough drinks for tonight, boys…” Suho tried, but was interrupted by the other guy, the one standing just beside the captain of YG – a not so tall guy with good build and pink hair that Kyungsoo took notice of just now.

“So early? You surely don’t want to ruin the party, no? The night is young. We could have such a nice talk, we haven’t seen each other in ages…”

“Yes, since about last year, the same time.” The captain smirked and Kyungsoo could swear that most of his teammates wanted to throw a punch at him, and it was Baekhyun(of course, why was it always Baekhyun) who actually raised himself a little and leaned on the table to face the other team.

“If there’s anything you guys need to say, say it. You’re kind of ruining our…how do we call it? Relaxation evening? Mental prep night? ‘We’ll beat your asses so we celebrate in advance’ gathering?”

“You’re cocky now, Byun…” another guy from the side smiled, eyebrows raised. “And how will your relaxation night end? With you getting fucked in the bar’s restrooms by that giant boyfriend of yours?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes doubled in size when he heard something clattering on the table and he turned just in time to see Baekhyun standing up with a very raging expression.

“That’s it. Hold my phone, Chanyeol,” the front runner was saying, while shoving it in his boyfriend’s hands, face set in a feisty expression, squinted eyes never looking away from the other team. “I’ll cut you.”

And Kyungsoo just watched in a daze as he felt kai releasing his hand and standing up along with about five more guys on the table, standing between Baekhyun and the guy, who Kyungsoo didn’t know. And he couldn’t stop himself from thinking how clichéd everything was, until Chanyeol spoke up.

“Oh, so I get no ass from you but I gotta hold your shit…makes me feel great, you know?....if only you were right, Mino, if only…”

And just when Kyungsoo saw the other guy opening his mouth, he saw Jongin raising a hand.

“Enough.” He said, calmly, but strongly. Just like when he was talking on the field, sans the screaming. He looked around everybody, eye stopping on each person for a few seconds, before he set his jaw. “Let’s leave this for tomorrow, no?”

“I will have to agree with Kai.” The red haired captain side eyed his team and Kyungsoo’s tensed up shoulders calmed down when he saw them retreating slightly. “We can finish this argument tomorrow on the field. There’s no need to argue like children…”

“Exactly.” Kai nodded, before throwing a look towards his teammates, making sure everybody was sitting in place. And Kyungsoo just stood there, waiting. “We’ll meet tomorrow, GD. As for now…have a nice evening with your team, prepare yourselves. It is going to be exhausting.”

“Oh, I am sure it will be.” The other one smirked, before very lightly lifting his bottle of beer, a very stoic, very calm expression on his face. An expression of a person who didn’t seem to have a single worry in life. “Cheers!”

And it wasn’t until they were finally away, out of hearing range, that someone on their own table, probably Baekhyun, slammed a hand on the table and finally brought the attention back to them.

“Well, damn, wasn’t that intense.” Chen whistled lowly. “They’re definitely in it to win it, they’ve got some nerve.”

“They do and I don’t like this at all.” Suho groaned, sinking down on the table as Kai nodded darkly beside Kyungsoo.

“Yes. They’re going to be hell tomorrow because of this escapade.” The captain sighed out, fingers tracing Kyungsoo’s hand again. “We need to be careful.”

“Why? You think they’ll be playing dirty?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Those are the finals, they can’t do shit, it’s full of judges.” Kai snorted, hand tightening around Kyungsoo’s, fingers entwined together yet again. “I just don’t want anybody wandering alone. We’re doing this as a team, alright?”

And the guys on the table started cheering – Kai knew what simple words he needed to use to get them to think positively. He knew how to be a captain. A damn good one, at that.

Kyungsoo squeezed the hand in his lightly.

He didn’t need to say anything for Kai to know, that he agreed.

_For Jongin to know._

* * *

Okay, well damn....that took quite some time....and it's random af....but oh well

I hope you guys don't misunderstand, I chose YG to play at the 'finals' because of the neverending competition between teh two companies, I saw it fitting....and I also hope you do not misunderstand, I really love BigBang AND WINNER AND iKon, so yeah...don't think i'm doing this out of hate or something, I JUST NEED CHARACTERS....

Anyway, I hope you liked it and until next time! ^^


	20. -19-

19

Kyungsoo was feeling kind of nauseous when he entered the locker room on the following day – he didn’t want to think about the game ahead of them. He just wanted to be sure that everything he’d do would be of favor to the team.

And he’d tried his best, honestly, he’d trained as much as possible in the last few days, he had tried to sleep well the night prior, to be fresh and energetic in the morning. And for now, it was working.

The only thing that was making him feel not in place was the feeling in his gut – the feeling that he wasn’t going to be good enough, that because of him the entire team would fail. Fear. 

He shook his head and with that, these thoughts away. It was too early for the game – it was tonight. But he promised himself not to study today, also he might have been kicked out by Baekhyun and Chanyeol and he knew that they weren’t going to be that gross today, but he just didn’t want to be third wheeling them. Of course, he could always call Jongin, but he didn’t want that either. He just wanted to come here earlier, be by himself for a little while, think.

He left his backpack with the jersey in the locker room and then got out on the field – it was empty, dead silent. It was kind of overwhelming to think that only in a few hours people would start gathering to watch the final game of the college league. And it was kind of nerve wracking to think that he was going to be a part of this game.

So he took his time just standing there, somewhere in the middle of the field, looking around the bleachers that would be soon occupied by the other students in their college and the people who’d come to cheer from YG.

He was too deep in thought to hear somebody approaching him from the back.

“Isn’t it a bit early to be here?”

Kyungsoo turned around suddenly to see the person in front – the first thing he registered was the red hair that was making his eyes hurt from looking at it for too long under the sun. He tried to not show his surprise when he blinked once and tilted his head.

“It is. But that doesn’t seem to have stopped you from coming.”

“Point for you.” The guy shrugged, the red varsity jacket way too bright to Kyungsoo’s liking. “I guess last night didn’t really go well. I want to apologize for that, some of the guys were drunk, I wasn’t completely sober myself.”

“Right.” Kyungsoo pursed his lips, looking away toward the benches again. He hadn’t expected the captain of the opposing team to be here right now.

“So…I’m Jiyong.” The guy from beside him offered again and Kyungsoo eyes him warily, before nodding.

“I’m Kyungsoo.”

“So you’re the center?”

“I am. And you’re the quarterback?” Kyungsoo offered, mostly because he didn’t know what else to say. He already knew the guy was the captain and the quarterback. He really had nothing to tell him, but it wouldn’t hurt to try communicating. After all, these boys from YG, they were just college students. Just like them.

“That’s me, yes. So are you ready for the game?”

“I am.” Kyungsoo replied, maybe way too quickly, without looking at the captain.

“I see.”

Kyungsoo didn’t expect the other one to chuckle, but when he did all he could do was turn around and stare at him. Why was he laughing? Did he do something dumb? Something embarrassing?

“Sorry,” he said himself before Kyungsoo could question him. “This is just awkward. I don’t know what to say.”

“Oh…”

“It’s just, I don’t normally talk to SM’s football players. We’re not really…fond of each other.”

“Really…” Kyungsoo mused, looking away for a second. He’d noticed that. Surely, some of his friends admired YG’s team, he still remembered Tao’s flattering words. However, admiration didn’t mean that they actually liked them. Kyungsoo had heard enough offends, enough whispers and profanities to know that the situation was like this. Rivalry at its best. He felt like rolling his eyes.

“Yeah. But you do seem nice.” Kyungsoo eyed him again to see a seemingly friendly smile on his lips. “Maybe after the game tonight we could go get a drink?”

Kyungsoo shot him another look, warily shifting his weight.

“I don’t think this would be a good idea.”

“Oh?” the captain of YG seemed puzzled. “Why not?”

“I have a boyfriend.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence, before Kyungsoo saw Jiyong nodding.

“Okay. I see. That doesn’t mean we can’t go get a drink, though, right?”

Kyungsoo almost grimaced – he wouldn’t even like to try explaining to Kai that he would go with his rival to get a drink. That would either be too hilarious or too dramatic. In any case, exhausting. And Kyungsoo didn’t even want to think about it. So he ended up shrugging.

“Let’s see what happens with the game first and then we’ll talk again.”

“OK.” The red haired man smiled, before stepping back lightly. “I guess I’ll see you later, then…”

“Yeah…I guess so too.”

And as he watched the red haired man leaving the field leisurely, Kyungsoo couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck had just happened.

* * *

“I was looking for you, you walnut!”

“Well I was-…wait, what the hell did you just call me?”

“Whatever.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes when Kyungsoo barged in the room. “We should start packing already, the game starts in an hour and a half and I can’t fucking find my thigh pads.”

“Second drawer in your closet.” Kyungsoo supplied helpfully, earning himself a grin from his best friend. He also threw a look at Chanyeol who was lying down on Baekhyun’s bed, playing with the phone in his hands. “Listen…”

“No, you listen. I got fucking 30 percent on my assignment, can you believe this? I actually tried writing that and I only get 30! I spent like, what, half an hour on it? This is outrageous-“

“Baek, listen, this is important. Jiyong asked me to go get a drink with him after the game.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip when Baekhyun whipped his head towards him and when Chanyeol fell from the bed with a low, surprised grumble.

“Jiyong?!” the taller one asked incredulously, while getting up. “As in, G Dragon, captain of YG’s football team Jiyong?”

When Kyungsoo nodded he watched Baekhyun’s eyebrows raising up his forehead even more and Chanyeol letting out a muffled, surprised/shocked sound.

“And?” Baekhyun questioned.

“And, what?”

“What did you say?”

“I told him I have a boyfriend but then he said we can still go out.” Kyungsoo wrinkled his nose, sitting on his bed.

“Why did you tell him?!” Baekhyun questioned, a dazed expression on his face. “He’s hot.”

“What do you mean he’s hot?” Chanyeol raised his voice from the bed, suddenly looking alarmed. “He’s not hot…he’s like, room temperature.”

“He’s hot.” Baekhyun shot his boyfriend a look, before shaking his head lightly. “Man, Kai better doesn’t find out about this…”

Kyungsoo nodded quietly, mind still dazed, thoughts still running in every direction.

“Yeah, Jesus…if he finds out I don’t want to be there.” Chanyeol mumbled from the side and Kyungsoo shrugged.

“This is not about Kai right now. Why do you think he said this?”

“Maybe he knows…” Chanyeol let out thoughtfully. “About you and Kai, I mean. Maybe he’s trying to cause friction or something.”

“Too much novels.” Baekhyun interrupted him with a roll of his eyes, before throwing his thigh pads in the backpack. “Or maybe he’s just interested in you. You’re a fluffy, charming ball of sunshine, Kyungsoo, who wouldn’t be?”

“I’d punch you but I don’t want to get suspended again,” Kyungsoo grumbled, eyeing his best friend’s grin growing. It was Chanyeol who spoke first.

“Maybe we shouldn’t really talk about this right now. We have a game in a while, let’s concentrate on that for now, OK?”

“Or maybe I shouldn’t really talk about this at all,” Kyungsoo corrected, brows furrowed. “He doesn’t interest me. I’m just wondering what he’s up to.”

“Getting in your pants, probabl- _ouch!_ You fucker… that hurt!”

“It was supposed to!” Kyungsoo snarled, before standing up from the bed and giving his best friend another judging look. “You better don’t say this in front of Jongin, alright?!”

“What am I, an idiot?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Ouch, Kyungsoo, that almost hurt.” Baekhyun winced, before sticking his tongue out in his friend’s direction. Kyungsoo ignored him and buried his eyes in Chanyeol.

“Same goes to you, you giraffe.”

“What? The stupid thing? Excuse me, but it’s not me who got 30 percent on the homework.”

“Hey!”

“Chanyeol….”

“I know, I know,” the taller one stood up and started stretching lazily. “If I even dare utter a word you will cut my ears off or something.”

Kyungsoo blinked twice, before a small smile crept on his face.

“Exactly.”

“What a creep.”

* * *

“WE’RE NOT LATE!”

Kai rolled his eyes when he heard Baekhyun’s shout before even seeing him running into the locker rooms. However, when he did turn around he saw him barging in, followed closely by Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.

“Honestly…” he  heard Suho saying from the side. “Get ready quickly! We don’t have lots of time, we need to go through the game plan again.”

“This is YG we’re playing against, the game plan won’t work.” Chen complained and Kai only sighed out again. To some extent, he was right. It was all a matter of talent now, a matter of passion and hard work.

“We will go through it,” he said instead, closing his eyes for a second. “Just in case.”

He turned around to ignore the comments of some of the guys. Instead, he focused his look on Kyungsoo, who was getting ready at the corner with Baekhyun. Kai tilted his head lightly, before he approached them.

“Need help with those?” he asked, raising his hands lightly to catch the end of the strap of Kyungsoo’s shoulder pads. He watched the shorter one looking up, two round eyes open wide, staring right into him, blinking once.

“Yeah.”

Jongin simply nodded, watching as Kyungsoo pulled his shirt off, leaving his hair a disheveled mess. The captain didn’t really have anything to say – he was feeling nervous about the upcoming game, a kind of nervousness he’d not felt in a long time. At least for a game. So that’s why he put all his focus into picking up the pad, carefully placing it on his boyfriend’s shoulder and then pulling the string from the side. He got closer to pull on it, to secure it correctly, without even realizing that by doing that his body would get close to Kyungsoo’s. That the smell of his shampoo mixed with the sweetness that Kyungsoow as would hit him. That he’d close his eyes and somehow feel like he wasn’t in a room full of football players but in a little bubble with only his Kyungsoo.

He couldn’t stop himself from stepping forward even more, nose almost buried in the locks of Kyungsoo’s hair. He couldn’t stop himself from running his fingers down Kyungsoo’s bare back after he finished with the strap. He couldn’t stop himself from smirking when he felt Kyungsoo shivering underneath him.

“I need to get ready, Jongin…” he heard Kyungsoo whispering lowly, before he pushed him away lightly, those round eyes still staring at him. And Jongin only nodded, hand sliding down Kyungsoo’s forearm, not wanting to let go of him. However, eventually he had to, because Suho pulled him to the side, an open gamebook in his hands.

He couldn’t concentrate on even one word the coach’s assistant was saying. He understood nothing from the formation that he was explaining, he wasn’t paying attention. He simply couldn’t when his eyes kept on turning to the corner where Kyungsoo was still getting dressed, talking quietly with Baekhyun. And whenever he’d look towards them he’d see his boyfriend looking at him and when their eyes would meet Kyungsoo would look away, a pink hue spreading on his face.

Jongin couldn’t help but smile to himself, which earned him a slap with the gamebook on his arm from Suho. But somehow, the assistant didn’t seem to mind at all – he was trying to conceal his smile.

“You know, I only notice this now, but whenever he’s around you’re melting.”

“Dignity is overrated.” The captain was quick to reply quietly to Suho’s remark. “I love him.”

“I can _see_ that. But you know what I love?” Jongin actually turned to Suho to see what he had to say. He was greeted by an open book with o’s and x’s. He raised an eyebrow.

“Hugs and kisses?”

“Charming.” another blow with the gamebook on his forearm. “I love my formations and you should love them too. You will have enough time to stare at Kyungsoo after the game, but now listen to me!”

And so the captain didn’t really have an option. He looked one last time towards Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, the two of them seemingly arguing quietly at the side, both already in their jerseys. His gaze lingered on them for a few seconds – enough for Kyungsoo to look towards him, for their eyes to meet, for the center to lift the corner of his lips in a lopsided smile and for Jongin to melt all over again.

Then, finally, he turned towards Suho, who was patiently waiting.

* * *

“IS EVERYBODY READY?” Kai asked loudly, trying to calm himself down before asking the others. HE watched as the team gathered together in front of him, some nodding confidently, others looking slightly discouraged. Kai looked at each and every one of them, before he breathed in again. “They won last year. I know, it sucks. And now we have to go through this all once again.”

Once again a look at everybody, noting how some of the guys were nodding along, others were staring blankly, thirds were trying to hide behind others.

“But,” he continued, a tad louder. “We got new players. We trained. We trained so hard. So damn hard….We improved. And all these hours we spent out there sweating, all these hours we were out there running, preparing ourselves, they won’t go in vain! WE will go out on this field now and we will show them what we managed to do in this one year! We will go out there and we will show them what it means to work off your ass for something!”

There was an uproar, a wave of slightly uplifted voices, that made the captain smirk. There they were, his team…

“We will go out there and WE WILL BEAT THEM, ALRIGHT?”

“And then we’ll rub it in their faces that at least we have somebody to end up fucking with in a bar restroom!” Baekhyun shouted quite enthusiastically and all the screams died out, as everybody turned to stare at him.

Kai didn’t have anything to say – he stared at the front runner as Chanyeol cleared his throat, as some of the players clasped hands on his back, others started laughing, as Kyungsoo cracked a smile. He felt his own lips curving a little upwards, before he actually let out a breath and hit the door of the locker to attract the guys’ attention back to himself.

“That, too. Let’s go and win this game now, alright?” he said, before nodding lightly, mostly to himself. “We can do this together, alright? We’re a team….I believe in us...COME ON!”

Another uproar of mostly confused male voices, but Kai stood there as he watched them getting out of the locker room after Suho, one by one, enthusiastically walking out…confidently. And he stood there until almost everybody was out, until only him and Kyungsoo were left in the room, standing next to each other.

“Are you ready?” he asked quietly and Kyungsoo, in front of him, smiled.

“Almost.”

And before Kai could even question him, the shorter one raised his hand, a jar of eye black standing there.

The captain smiled, as he raised his hand and took it from his hand, getting some of it on his finger, before he stepped closer to Kyungsoo and raised his hand, running the finger below Kyungsoo’s eye on his cheekbone. He broke eye contact with him for a second to get some of the paint on his thumb. Then he looked up again, eyes locking with Kyungsoo’s before he repeated the action on the other side of Kyungsoo’s face – finger moving, turning the milky white skin it was going over into a pitch black line.

But when he finished it, he didn’t look away, he didn’t even let go of Kyungsoo’s face.

Instead, he leaned down and captured the lips of the center with his and it just felt so blissful, so known, yet so foreign _, because he had fucking missed this_! And they moved together, lips fitting together perfectly, letting each other get a taste of the other one, but not deepening it. He felt the older one smiling in the kiss, before two smaller hands pushed him away lightly and before two round eyes were staring at him again, a certain glint in them that made Jongin’s insides flip.

“What was that for?”

“For good luck, of course.” The captain replied and Kyungsoo smiled in front of him, the hands on his chest clutching the fabric of his jersey.

“Well in that case…”

The captain didn’t mind, not even one bit, when the other one pulled him forward and crashed their lips together again, this time savoring his lips fully, tongue tracing the outline of his lower lip, which drove him crazy.

And as wild and sudden as it was, it finished, and Kyungsoo was once again standing one step away from him, smiling innocently, as he grabbed his helmet from the side and raised his eyebrows.

“So are we going or what?”

* * *

Kyungsoo felt pressure when he heard the first whistle of the referee. When all the players started moving to their positions, when he moved forward to the field, at the very front of their formation.

He saw the other team, as well – the red and white jerseys of YG, he saw them running around, getting ready too. He walked forward and stopped just when he reached the spot in front of YG’s center. And a squint of his eyes helped him recognize him – the tall guy that had snarled at Baekhyun and Chanyeol last night. Mino.

“You?” he heard him sneering. “ _You’re_ their center?! Is that a joke?”

Kyungsoo squinted his eyes in his direction, feeling himself getting full of that feeling that he knew would later make him fuck shit up. For now, he needed to keep the ball away from YG, he needed to get this done. And what better thing to filter that anger into?

He felt a pat on his shoulder when Baekhyun passed by him towards his position, he heard someone from their team shouting encouragingly. He could hear the hosts talking over the loudspeakers.

He could register all that, but he wasn’t paying attention to it. The only thing that mattered at the moment was the ironic smirk that was visible on the other center’s face through the helmet, the feeling that he had to prove himself surging through his veins and the referee approaching with the ball.

There we go, Kyungsoo thought, taking a steadier position, leaning forward slightly, feeling tension gathering in his muscles, as he prepared himself for the game. As he listened to the countdown.

As he watched as everything moved slowly, as he heard the buzzer and as he felt his body reacting before he could even think about it – he threw himself forward, shoulder clashing with the other center’s chest, the ball already flying somewhere above their heads.

And usually this force was making other centers wince, or even fall on the ground. With this one, Kyungsoo could only push him back, before he met resistance, before he was pushing him back with a furious mask on his face.

“I underestimated you, you midget.”

“Call me that one more time and you won’t be able to have kids.” Kyungsoo snapped as he backed away, not focused on this fight anymore. Instead, he directed his eyes towards the ball that was flying around the field – he watched as people were tackling each other only meters away from him. He was watching when Chanyeol jumped forward to get the ball, he watched as he was tackled to the ground but just moments before that he’d thrown the ball in Tao’s direction. Tao, who was free. Tao, who caught it and started running. Tao, who was however slowly getting surrounded by the other team.

Kyungsoo watched as the ball flied across the field from Tao’s hands to Xiumin’s, then from Xiumin’s to Chen’s and then finally to Kai, who was carefully surrounded by Kris, Chen and Sehun. And once it was in his hands, he watched all four of them moving together, as one, the three keeping the opposite team away, while Kai was progressing with the ball forward, all sounds surreal in the moment.

Kyungsoo could blink twice before the shotbuzzer went off and it showed their score.

6:0

He smiled in delight, feeling a few pats on his back, as the team members were getting back in position.

He could definitely see the difference in this game – this team wasn’t to be underestimated. He could understand everything now. They were good. Too damn good.

So when he got back in position, he cursed internally because of the sight in front of him, and most importantly, the look full of dedication in Mino’s eyes.

“I’m not going to let you do that again, princess.”

However, when the buzzer went off again and Kyungsoo lunged in with all his might, the center did lose his balance, an incredulous look on his face, when the ball went flying over the field and when Kyungsoo backed away just barely, a satisfied smirk on his face as he watched the widened in surprise eyes of the other one.

“What were you saying, _princess_?”

However, that smug little smile dropped almost immediately when he saw the good build man from yesterday with the pink hair tackling Lay to the ground rather forcefully, snatching the ball from his hands. And Kyungsoo could just stand there and do nothing as the front liners were moving forward, trying to get the ball back, and they almost did it, but YG were faster. When the ball got to their quarterback’s hands, Kyungsoo was once again left amazed. He was moving through the field so quickly, like a dash. Ball under his hand, he was making his way through to the other side of the field, jumping and ducking just in time to avoid SM’s defense line.

So when the sound went off again and Kyungsoo looked up to the scoreboard once again, he pursed his lips.

6:6

* * *

“We’re still tied…” Chen clicked his tongue, as he sat down on the bench next to Kai, holding a bottle of water in his hand. The captain nodded darkly.

“OK, guys, listen, you’re all doing an mazing job. Keep up with it and you will definitely-“

“No.” Kai stood up. “We need to give more from now on…you all know YG. You know they’re going to start playing dirty if they think they’ll lose.”

“Isn’t this a bit too extreme?”

Kai whipped his head in the direction of Kyungsoo, noting the smudged black paint on his face and a look of slight disbelief.

“What?”

“I mean, seriously? They can’t cheat in front of a whole stadium full of people. They’ll get a penalty.”

“That is right, but they always find a way.” Kai looked away, because this was an argument he didn’t want to have at the moment. Instead, he closed his water bottle and tossed it towards Suho. “What I’m trying to say is, we need to gather all the energy we have left for this part. We can do it! RIGHT?!”

“YEAH!”

Kai sighed out at the lack of enthusiasm, but he couldn’t blame them – they were all tired, exhausted even. YG weren’t a weak opponent.

They were all having a hard time, but in the end, after everything, he knew that they could do it. They had to…

“Damn right, we can…” he muttered to himself, before raising his head again. “Let’s make this a clean and nice game, just like we’d practiced. And I want everybody to be careful, alright?”

“A clean and nice game? Be careful?!” Luhan raised an eyebrow, looking around incredulously. “Who are you and what have you done to our captain?”

“What I meant is, get your fucking heads in the game or I swear I’ll arrange a meeting for you all with the Creator….”

Luhan grinned and patted his shoulder, before putting his helmet on.

“That’s what I’m talking about…”

Kai smirked, shook his head, and then followed his team back to the field.

* * *

You could say that he was exhausted when they continued with the game. But when the game started again, he had to give his all again, he needed to do his best.

And it was getting harder and harder to keep Mino away, to push him away – it’s as if he was gaining strength while Kyungsoo was slowly losing his. However, with a lot of willpower and even more physical one, he managed to do it, to throw the ball back, to hear a frustrated hiss from the other center.

And while Kyungsoo was too busy watching the game, the front runners passing the ball around, he chose to ignore the ‘You little fucker’ that slipped out of the other one’s lips, which was his first mistake. His second one was not being careful, like Kai had warned them.

Because one moment, he was watching Baekhyun pass the ball to Xiumin. Next moment, he was feeling an unbelievable force hit him in the chest.

Then, he was falling to the ground and everything was moving slowly. And everything went silent in his ears when he collided with the green field, when he felt the pain shooting through his shoulder when he fell on it, when he landed two feet away from his original spot, a not so muffled cry escaping his lips.

Kyungsoo’s world started spinning, probably because of the collision, probably because he hit his head in the ground, probably because he couldn’t stop himself from raising a hand up to his shoulder, where the shoulder pad collided with the ground. And it was supposed to protect you, but not to that extent. Not to the extent of you being thrown on the ground.

 _“Fuck…”_ he let out when he realized what had happened, when the sounds started getting back, when he started hearing the crowd screaming again, when he heard people shouting his name, when everything started coming into view again.

He blinked a few times, watching everything from the ground, people running on the field, the ball still flying.

And the first thing he focused on was Kai.

He was staring at him, eyes and mouth widened in shock, with what had to be a scared expression on his face.

And Kyungsoo breathed out when the quarterback caught the ball in his hands, eyes still not moving away from him. And everything was just moving so slowly, everything was so surreal, the only thing keeping him sane were the brows eyes buried in his, not looking away.

Then the crowd started screaming again and Kyungsoo had to blink once to realize what was going on.

Because next thing he knew, Kai had thrown the ball away, sprinting through the team towards him.

And Kyungsoo wanted to scream, tell him not to do it, tell him to go back, that he needed to finish the game. But he couldn’t. Because at the lightest move he was making, pain was shooting through his right shoulder and he’d wince, but that didn’t matter because only seconds later Kai was on the ground next to him, two hands carefully, unsurely wrapping themselves around him, trying to help him up.

“Soo…Soo, are you alright? Damn it…Kyungsoo?”

And the center only blinked once, everything feeling blurred, when he heard the sound indicating a change in score, when other players started gathering around, when Kai leaned down and tried to help him sit up which resulted in another grimace of pain.

“You are….such an idiot…” Kyungsoo muttered, his free hand forming a fist on Kai’s chest, before he shut his eyes closed. “Why did you do that?”

There were a few moments of silence, in which Kyungsoo could hear Kris and Suho shouting on the field for a timeout, some of YG’s players arguing, the referee whistling like crazy. But he didn’t focus on that. He just kept on holding Kai, feeling his strong hands around him, his heavy breathing next to him.

“In the end…” the captain started, when he removed Kyungsoo’s helmet carefully. “I can’t lose you, Kyungsoo…and football…it is just a game. That, I can afford losing.”

Kyungsoo stared up tiredly, trying to somehow numb the pain in his shoulder, while Kai ran a hand through his hair, keeping him straight, while Suho was motioning for the medics to rush over.

Kyungsoo shut his eyes closed yet again and buried his head in the other one’s chest.

“You’re such an idiot…” he mumbled quietly, fingers tightening in Jongin’s shirt. “And I love you so much. So damn much…”

There was a smile on the captain’s face, before he was shoved aside by two men who helped Kyungsoo up, and before the center lost the other one from sight.

But in any case, the football game was the very last thing on his mind at that certain moment.

* * *

“So now what?” Suho asked, while Kyungsoo winced again, staring at the useless bundle of bandage wrapped underneath his jersey on the right side of his torso. That wasn’t helping one bit, but he didn’t want to go to the hospital. Not yet. He needed to stay here for the last thirty seconds of the game. He couldn’t miss that and he could live for another half a minute.

“They got away with only a penalty.” Kris clicked his tongue, staring towards the field.

“Should I go tell Donghae to take his shoulder pads?” Suho questioned, eyes buried in Kai, who was biting on his lower lip.

“Kyungsoo?”

The male looked up when the captain said his name. They were staring at him, all of them. Waiting. For an answer probably. It was Suho who stood up first.

“No. This is outrageous. He can’t play in this state. I’m not going to let hi-“

“I want to.” Kyungsoo interrupted him, getting up from the bench, watching Suho step back in light shock. “I started, I want to finish it, too…unless, of course, the team doesn’t agree.”

“We’re doomed anyway.” Chen let out a sigh, earning himself a nudge in the ribs from Baekhyun.

“Shut up. We can do it.”

“Of course we can. WE can repeat the last formation….” Kris noted, before his eyes lazily darted towards Kai. “But we need Kyungsoo to get us the ball first…”

“I can do that.” The shorter one raised his eyebrows, before letting both his hands fall down, trying not to pathetically wince at the pain that shot through his limbs. “I can…”

“Well…” Kai sighed out, looking at him for a mere second, before turning back to the team. “I trust him. Baekhyun is right. We can do this. All of us….”

“I can’t believe you’re letting this happen…”

“He is right, Suho…” Kai shot the older one a look. “He started this, we wouldn’t have been here without him. So he gets to finish it if he wants to.”

And Kyungsoo smiled once again in his boyfriend’s direction. Nobody said anything, but most of the guys were nodding. Nobody patted him this time, so at least for that, Kyungsoo was grateful. For that, and for their endless support. For Yixing’s wink, for Xiumin’s smile, for Tao’s nod, for Baekhyun’s roll of eyes, for Chanyeol’s toothy grin. For everything.

“Let’s go.” Kai urged everybody to move, before he moved forward with them. Suho was the one who helped Kyungsoo with his helmet this time, giving him a  very hard look before the center st off for the field.

“Be careful, alright?”

And with those words echoing in his mind, Kyungsoo stood up in front of Mino and his nasty smirk,

“How’s your shoulder, princess?”

“Not well.” Kyungsoo let out through gritted teeth, waiting for the referee to come over, he was getting in stance. And he’d never done this before, but he switched his position, left leg forward instead of right one, left shoulder getting ready to take the hit, not the right one.

He was getting ready, hoping for the best, getting every single muscle in his body to move, to tense up, to get ready for the collision.

And then there was a whistle, and Kyungsoo shut his eyes closed, leaning forward to keep Mino in place, feeling his whole body shaking, pain shooting through his entire body, as he managed to throw his hands back and get the ball to fly over the heads of the players towards his team. And then, when he knew it was already gone, he let finally stopped pushing, he backed away from the other center, who was glaring t him incredulously and Kyungsoo only smirked, trying hard to ignore the throbbing pain in his right side and in his head.

“That’s what I have another shoulder for.”

And before he knew it, his hand was flying up to his shoulder, to squeeze it, as he once again fell to the ground, everything he felt in the moment – awful throbbing throughout his entire body, as the edges of his vision started getting dark.

But he didn’t mind that. The only thing that mattered was that he did what he could do.

That he heard the cheers of the people even though he couldn’t see what was going on.

That he heard the change on the scoreboard and the ecstatic cheers of very well known voices.

That he heard the signal for the end of the game and that he saw people running towards him, his favourite hoarse voice sounding closer and closer, screaming ‘ _We did it! You did it, Kyungsoo!_ ’.

Because when SM won, he knew that everything had been worth it.

So he let his head fall down to the ground, without even realizing that he was smiling.

* * *

Hey, guys, I tried to write this as fast as possible, meaning today for like 6 hours 

Anyway, excuse me if it's full of mistakes, but I just wanted to make it faster, so Merry late Christmas from me! I hope you have amazing holidays with your close people! ^^

Also, only two more chapters and this fic is coming to an end :)

AND ONCE AGAIN, I love YGE's artists, don't misunderstand me hah

And with that said, until next time! ^^


	21. -20-

20

It was the light that stirred him up.

He didn’t open his eyes, no. He just felt so tired, like every single move, even lifting his eyelids, would take up so much energy. He just let out a soft breath, thinking.

The last things he remembered were somehow blurry. He remembered that SM won the game, that he fainted, he remembered the awful pain on his right side and he remembered somebody lifting him, probably. Everything after that was one big black hole.

And maybe only that, after two minutes of contemplations, was the reason he lazily cracked his eyes open, blinded by the light of the sun for a few seconds. But when he came around again, and after noticing the white curtains, white walls and white sheets, he realized he was in a hospital. Which would explain the needle in his arm. And the cast.

Suddenly, he felt very uncomfortable, panic shooting through him for mere seconds, before he eventually turned his head to examine the room further and before he forgot everything as his eyes focused on the head resting on the edge of his bed – all he could see were dark brown locks of hair, but it was enough for him to know.

Jongin was sitting on a chair next to the bed, his head resting on one of his arms, as he was peacefully sleeping to the side. Kyungsoo felt his lips curving up, as his functioning hand, that wasn’t restricted by a cast, moved to the side to caress the head of his boyfriend.

He couldn’t forget what Jongin had done, despite the fact that everything else was a blur. He just couldn’t forget the fact that the captain had chosen him over the game. And that, when he’d had the ball in his hands, when he’s been only meters away from the inner zone. Only seconds away from scoring a touchdown.

He couldn’t forget how his eyes had widened underneath the helmet, how he’d thrown the ball aside and how he’d broken into a sprint towards him, when he’d fallen to the ground.

Kyungsoo smiled to himself once again, before tugging very lightly on one of Jongin’s locks. He’d known that the captain wasn’t in a deep state of sleep, which was confirmed by the fact that he jumped up immediately, sleepy eyes wandering around for a few seconds, before stopping on Kyungsoo’s face.

“You’re awake.”

“I am.” Kyungsoo nodded, as he watched his boyfriend sigh out in what seemed to be relief, before he lunged down again, seating himself on the chair, that he pulled closer to the bed, both hands grabbing Kyungsoo’s left one.

“How do you feel?”

“Like shit.”

“I swear, when I find Song fucking Mino I will beat the fuck out of him…”

“It was a game, Jongin…” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, wiggling himself so that he could push himself to a half-lying, half-sitting position. Then a sharp look towards Jongin. “Mind helping me out?”

The younger one shot himself up once again and Kyungsoo thought that, yes, this was indeed very fun and nice. He was smirking to himself when Jongin held him close and helped him drag himself up, but when the younger one was about to retreat, Kyungsoo bore his fingers in the fabric of his shirt and he used all power he had in his left hand to keep him close. Which wasn’t that hard, for the younger didn’t seem like he was going to fight against it.

So they stood like this, Kyungsoo’s chin resting on Jongin’s neck and vice versa, in complete silence, until Kyungsoo tightened his grip on Jongin’s shirt and sighed out.

“Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For staying here with me. For…for risking the game because of me and for believing in me.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that.” Jongin finally pulled away, hand finding its way to Kyungsoo’s cheek, caressing his skin lightly. “If anything, I should be the one thanking you.”

“What for?” Kyungsoo mimicked with a small smile.

“For opening my eyes, of course.”

Kyungsoo half expected it when Jongin leaned down and placed a very chaste kiss on his lips, as if fearing that he’d hurt him in any way, which caused the older one to smirk lightly.

“Oh come on, I’m not contagious.” He muttered lightly, then pulled Jongin forward to deepen the kiss and it felt so sweet and suddenly he just wasn’t tired, he was overflowing with energy.

And he was enjoying the kiss, until Jongin leaned forward and he was about to push himself up, totally forgetting about the casts on his right side. That’s when he moved his arm and almost bit Jongin in his attempt not to hiss in pain.

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo blurted out immediately, resting back on the pillows, before he moved his eyes to the right side of his torso. “So what is the diagnose, doctor? How fucked up am I on a scale of one to ten?”

“I didn’t know you were into role-play.” Jongin smirked at him, before he sat on the chair again, hands caressing Kyungsoo’s forearm on his left hand. “I’d say about seven. A dislocated shoulder, a small fracture on the upper arm and two bruised ribs.”

Kyungsoo winced a little.

“That’s a solid eight. So how long will I have to wear this?”

“Three to four weeks.” Jongin replied with a small nod and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but think how cute it was that he already knew the answers to these questions. _Jongin cared_. “Also they gave you this bunch of pills to lessen eventual pain.”

“And when am I allowed out of this place?” Kyungsoo winced again. “It looks so boring, everything’s white and it’s depressing.”

It was Jongin who laughed and squeezed Kyungsoo’s arm lightly.

“You can leave at about lunchtime, but you’ll have checkups every week.” Jongin shrugged, brows furrowing lightly. “Something about tightening the cast or something. I don’t know.”

And Kyungsoo nodded, kind of darkly, but still in a good mood, a sigh coming out of his mouth.

“Three to four weeks, you say…..God, how will I live with this for that long?”

“That’s the best part,” Jongin said and Kyungsoo turned to give him a look, but was pleasantly surprised to see Jongin’s face only inches away from his, a small smile playing on his lips. “They said you’ll need help with showering.”

And Kyungsoo’s heart skipped a beat, as he raised his arm to cup Jongin’s cheek, getting his face even closer to his. He smirked.

“I bet Baekhyun wouldn’t mind helping me out.”

He saw Jongin rolling his eyes, before he shortened the distance between them, pressing their lips together once again. And Kyungsoo only smiled in the kiss, wrapping his healthy arm around Jongin’s neck, because he loved him. And he knew that the other one loved him just as much.

And it didn’t matter that he had a cast on his entire hand, bandages on his torso and it didn’t matter that it kind of hurt when he was breathing, because in that moment, everything was perfect.

* * *

“We need to celebrate, Kyungsoo!”

“Celebrate what?” Kyungsoo frowned. “My dysfunctional body?”

“Well at least it’s not your face, so we can still-“

“Shut up, Baek,” Suho smirked from the other side of their booth in the usual bar. “But he’s right for one thing. We need to celebrate for the victory! I mean, we didn’t get to, because you were knocked out in the hospital, but now we’re all together so…”

“So it’s time to get drunk.” Chen screeched from the side, the first one to actually raise his shot. “Let’s drink to working our asses off for this!”

“It’s a nice thing to drink to.” Kai smirked from the side, hand lightly squeezing Kyungsoo’s thigh, as one by one, all the boys were lifting their shots. “To the team!”

Kyungsoo smirked, bringing the glass up to his lips, letting the liquor burn his throat.

The team. The victory. They were worth drinking for.

* * *

It was half an hour and three shots later, almost midnight, when the boys started getting lightheaded, when they started getting up and walking over to the dancefloor. Kyungsoo was having a blast, watching Baekhyun moving totally out of rhythm with Chanyeol beside him, whose dance moves made him think for a second he was swatting away flies. And while some of the guys just had to be grateful that they were blending in with the crowd, different thing could be said for others. Kyungsoo couldn’t take his eyes off Yixing, who seemed to have no bounds when he was drunk. Grinding and hip thrusting and amazing dance moves that Kyungsoo hadn’t expected from him. And then there was a distressed, half-drunk Suho, who was trying to tame him.

And maybe, maybe, if he were a little bit more drunk, he would have joined the fun out there. However, he still could think rationally, realizing that going out on the dance floor disguised as a mummy from the neck downwards wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do. Nor the safest.

But it’s not like he didn’t enjoy his night there, sitting only with Kai on the now empty separe, half lying down half sitting on the seats, head resting on Kai’s shoulder, as he was smiling at the sight in front of him. He could feel the captain’s hand mindlessly drawing random patters on his thigh.

And it was really perfect, until Chen broke apart from the crowd, squinting his eyes in their direction and raising his beer in some sort of salute. Then, he walked towards them, his smirk growing with every single step.

“Why don’t you join us, you two? It’s fun.”

Kyungsoo felt Kai squeezing his thigh for a second, but before he even opened his mouth, Kyungsoo looked up, eyes wide open and a smile gracing his lips.

“Yeah…you should go, Jongin,” Kyungsoo whispered, pressing his lips against the edge of Kai’s mouth when the younger one turned to look at him. “We came here, you should go have fun! You deserve it.”

“But-…you-“

“I’ll watch you from here.” Kyungsoo nodded and when Jongin raised his eyebrows, as if asking for a confirmation that it was alright, Kyungsoo pulled his face closer to his, capturing the puffy lips between his for a soft kiss. “Go.”

So Kyungsoo moved away from him, letting him pass to the dancing floor. But kai didn’t go before leaning down to kiss him again.

“I won’t stay there for long.”

“Leave already.” Kyungsoo smirked.

So he just stood there, watching the two football players first move to the bar, each of them getting a new beer in hand. And in the meantime, while he was too busy staring at Jongin’s retreating form, his broad shoulders and lean torso, his perfect butt and his long legs, he didn’t feel someone else approaching him, scaring the crap out of him when they plopped themselves next to him.

“I swear, you need to stop getting so surprised,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “It’s been, what? Three years since I’ve known you? Four? And you still get scared every time.”

“Next time I’ll sneak up on your ass and we’ll see what you’ll have to say.”

“You’ve been repeating this for three years already.”

“It’s four.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, finally looking at Baekhyun. “Is there anything you want?”

He didn’t like the fact that Baekhyun leaned forward.

“Yes. Yes, there is. We just won the damned league. Why the hell aren’t you joining the party over there?”

Kyungsoo wondered whether it would hurt him a lot if he hit Baekhyun’s head with the cast on his hand. Instead, he settled for staring at his best friend, blinking blankly a few times, trying to determine whether he was being serious, or whether he was just too drunk to comprehend things.

“So what, you’re just going to sit here all night?”

“No, I’m gonna Riverdance.”

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows when Baekhyun snorted and leaned down again.

“Look. Last time I checked, your upper body doesn’t get in the way of your lower body. So you can just suck it up and dance with us and then, hey, who knows, you may even get laid!”

Kyungsoo felt his sides burning, before he turned his back to Baekhyun.

“What are you doing here anyway? Where did Chanyeol go?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not.”

“This isn’t over, alright. I can’t believe it.” Baekhyun appeared next to him again, his beer in hand, ready to leave. “You were lame and boring even without your cast. Now you’ll be even worse.”

“Goodbye, Baekhyun…”

“Okay. Fine! But when you ask me for help I won’t help you, just you wait! When you ask me, ‘Hey Baek, can you bring me the towel?’, I won’t and you’ll have to go out naked. And then I’ll be the one laughing last because-”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes when Baekhyun bumped into Minseok, spilling beer on himself and completely forgetting about him. Instead, he looked over to the other part of the dancefloor, where Yixing had been dancing earlier. However, the front runner wasn’t there anymore. The spot was occupied by another dancer, just as good, but taller. Leaner. Brown locks falling in his eyes, smooth movements blending together into a very graceful, yet very powerful looking dance. 

And Kyungsoo was hypnotized, eyes not able to look away from him, his brain not being able to comprehend anything at all. Not the fact that this dance, although simple, looked so amazing. Not the fact that Jongdae appeared out of nowhere and tapped said guy on the shoulder. Not the fact that when he looked up their eyes met and Kyungsoo smirked.

Because that graceful dancer out there, that was Jongin. His Jongin.

The strong, scary captain of SM’s football team was dancing so gracefully, so sexily, so alluringly. And Kyungsoo couldn’t hide his shock, not really, but then again he wasn’t really surprised either. He’s never seen a quarterback move out of people’s grasps so swiftly like Jongin. He’s never seen such delicate and calculated movements on the field. It wasn’t how normal football players did it. It was how Jongin did.

And now this, him dancing only a few meters away from him…this was explaining it all, in the same time, enchanting Kyungsoo.

And the latter could only lean forward, eyes focused on the movements of his boyfriend, thinking about everything he knew about Jongin. And about everything that he didn’t.

Thinking, how this was only the beginning.

The thought made a smile bloom on his face.

* * *

He didn’t get laid, so technically, Baekhyun was wrong. Not that he didn’t want to, really, he would have figured out a way to lie down without feeling discomfort in his torso. Jongin, however, couldn’t be that easily persuaded, so for that night Kyungsoo had given up on that goal. He’d settled for cuddling, which was just as nice.

It felt really weird, spending the days so leisurely, with a lecture or two at most, no exams anymore, no intense practice sessions, no games. Just him and Jongin, walking hand in hand through the campus, mindlessly approaching the stadium, talking about nothing really significant, just enjoying the time they were spending with each other. Or in other words, it felt so calm. So nice.

And it was just the best when they reached the stadium when the sun was already starting to disappear, warming the sky, turning it a colorful mix of red, orange and blue. The best, because the stadium was almost empty, a few security guys to be seen, a few small figures in the other end of the field, probably athletes getting out after practice. Kyungsoo saw pompoms throws to the side, which meant that the cheerleaders have been around her not long ago either. But other than that, it was just him and Jongin, walking through the grass field towards the bleachers, hand in hand.

Kyungsoo smiled. Only a few times has he been here without training or playing a game.

“We always end up here somehow…” he whispered quietly and Jongin slowed down even more , throwing him a cautious look.

“We can-…we can go somewhere else if you want.”

“No!...I like it here.” Kyungsoo pulled him lightly, before sighing out in contempt. “I have to ask, though, being here, I can’t stop thinking about the team. What will happen with it?”

“What do you mean?” Jongin asked, his voice slightly puzzled, as they sat themselves on one of the upper benches. Kyungsoo shrugged.

“Xiumin, Luhan, Kris and Suho are graduating. Tao’s semester is almost done, he’s going back to China soon. Half of the team will be gone…” just thinking about it was saddening him. Of course, they wouldn’t lose contact, they were friends. But they wouldn’t be in this together. Jongin beside him, also seemed a little disheartened when he let out a sigh.

“I’ve been thinking about it these days, too…” the captain of the team looked down towards the field, running his tongue over his lips, before squeezing Kyungsoo’s thigh lightly. “We will recruit new players, I guess. There’s nothing else to do.”

“I know, but-…I mean…it just won’t be the same.”

“Hey,” Kyungsoo felt Jongin’s hand on his cheek, listing his face up to look at him, He was smiling. “Of course it won’t be the same. But why should that be a bad thing?”

“I didn’t say it’s a bad thing, it’s just….this team really…it really means a lot to me. And I know it’s like this for you, too, Jongin. Even though you’re always so strict about the game, so into the sport, I know that you love the guys.”

“Love is a little exaggerated-“

“Jongin! What I’m trying to say is, even though new people will be coming, those five won’t be here with us. Hell, we won’t even get to spend so much time with them, they’re getting out of the university, away from the campus.”

“Let me get this straight,” Jongin smiled again, hand moving from Kyungsoo’s cheek to push a stand of hair behind his ear. “You’re sad not because the team will be half empty, but because they’re going away?”

“Well, I mean….kind of…”

He was interrupted by Jongin pressing his lips against his forehead, keeping them there for a few more seconds than necessary, before pulling him in for a hug, as tight as his cast would allow.

“Even if you won’t be able to meet them so often, you’ll still have the rest of the team. You’ll have Sehun and Chen, Lay isn’t going anywhere either. Hell, Chanyeol and Baekhyun…and me. I’ll always be here for you.”

“Stop being cheesy.”

“I mean it.” Jongin cupped his cheek again. “You’ll have me and I’ll have you. And to be honest, I can live with that.”

“Can you, now?” Kyungsoo pushed him away lightly, a small smile rising on his lips because there were still months before the others would leave and before the new year would start and he didn’t want to think about it now, Not when he was happy with Jongin. “Say, do you want to go for ice cream?”

A knowing smile bloomed on Jongin’s face, before he leaned in to peck Kyungsoo’s lips softly.

“You know me. I’m always a sucker for Mint and Chocolate.”

* * *

Kyungsoo sighed out when he saw that the lock wasn’t closed. He pushed the door open, instead, hearing the stream of the shower in his shared bathroom with Baekhyun.

“Wait here, I’ll just go get clothes and I’m coming.” Kyungsoo let go of jongin’s hand. They’d talked about it already – last night Jongin had spent the night in their room, today Kyungsoo would go in his room with Yixing, because Baekhyun had practically begged him to keep it empty for the night. Kyungsoo had agreed after many threats and warnings, because he didn’t even want to know what him and Chanyeol were doing together.

“Is that you, Kyungsoo?” he heard a faint voice calling out from the bathroom and he could only roll his eyes.

“It’s me. Next time lock the door and don’t ask stupid questions.” Kyungsoo picked up his bag with his left hand, letting it lie on the bed, as he turned around to his wardrobe, Jongin was leaning on the wall, playing with his phone, while waiting for him to finish. Kyungsoo hastily shoved a T-shirt, a pair of jeans and fresh underwear in his bag, before heading for the bathroom, hand resting on the doorknob.

“I swear, the curtain better be down, I’m entering!” And Kyungsoo did, not even looking towards the bathtub, instead reaching out to his toothbrush on the sink. However, when he heard Baekhyun pulling it back and he looked up, he saw his best friend’s head sticking out from the side, staring at him through the mirror.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m spending the night at Jongin and Yixing’s room. You asked me to, didn’t you?!”

Bakehyun grinned at him, before raising his eyebrows.

“You know YG’s team is leaving tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo nodded vaguely, taking the toothpaste, as well and quickly checking his appearance in the mirror.

“Yeah? I can’t believe you. G fucking D asked you out and you didn’t even consider it!”

Kyungsoo closed his eyes in the same second the door for the bathroom opened widely and a certain captain was standing there, head twisting from kyungsoo to Baekhyun, who seemed like he wanted the ground to swallow him.

“Where the fuck did you come from?!”

“What did you just say?!”

“I said, where the fuck did you just come fro-“

“Not that, you moron!...Kyungsoo!”

The shorter male let out a sigh, finally opening his eyes and glaring at his best friend through the mirror.

“Real smooth, Baekhyun,” he muttered quietly, maybe with a hint of threat in his voice, ignoring the sound of protest the older one made. “Look, Jongin, let’s not talk about this. I didn’t even take his request seriously, so forget about it.”

“But-“

“Shhh!” Kyungsoo tiptoed, pecking Jongin on the lips quickly, before disappearing into the room, leaving the shocked captain in the bathroom with the front runner, who seemed like he wanted to hide behind the curtain again. However, Jongin was having none of that. His eyes quickly flew in Baekhyun’s direction, capturing his gaze.

“You,” he whispered very quietly, so quietly that only Baekhyun would hear him. “You’re going to tell me everything about this tomorrow, am I clear?”

“And have him kill me? Yeah, right.” Bakehyun snorted and pulled the curtain back, disappearing from Jongin’s eyesight. “Deal with your own personal angst alone and don’t get me involved. Unless, of course, you want me to get involved, which would explain why you’re still in the bathroom while I’m naked only two meters away from you.”

Jongin could kind of understand why Kyungsoo was constantly repeating that if he could strangle Baekhyun, he would.

If he could, Jongin would encourage it.

Oh yes, he would.

* * *

Kyungsoo disliked the way Kai was staring at him from the side of the bed, while he was chatting with Yixing. It’s like his eyes were burning a hole in his head, deconcentrating him so much, that even yixing asked him if he was alright at some point.

And at some point of the night, after it had been about two hours of chatting with yixing and complete silence from Jongin, Kyungsoo sighed out in the middle of his sentence, looking apologetically towards the Chinese guy.

“I’m sorry, yixing, give me a second,” and thus, he turned towards Jongin and nudged him in the rib. “What’s wrong with you? Do you plan on giving me the silent treatment?!”

“I’m not giving you the silent treatment.”

“Then what are you doing? You haven’t said a single word in more than two hours and you keep on glaring at me! I can leave right now, if you want me to.” Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows, while Jongin shook his head and let out an annoyed sigh.

“I’m just contemplating my life. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t worth mentioning!”

“Yes, but if this wasn’t worth mentioning, then how do I know that you’re being honest with me?”

“Oh, oh, you’re talking about honesty!” Kyungsoo frowned. “If that’s so, then why didn’t you tell me that you can dance like that!?”

“Wh-what?! This doesn’t have anything to do with fucking Jiyong asking you on a damn date!”

“It has!”

“It has not! Why did I have to find out from Baekhyun, who seemed to be supporting this idea?”

“Seriously?” Kyungsoo puffed out his cheeks. “Are you seriously going to question me about Baekhyun and his view of life?!”

“Yes-…well, _no_ , but….” Jongin sighed out and his voice sounded calmer now, peaceful. “This still doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t tell me. I’m your boyfriend! You should tell me stuff like this…”

“You’re my boyfriend.” Kyungsoo nodded, climbing up next to Jongin, placing his hand behind his neck and staring right into his eyes. “And this is exactly the reason  I didn’t tell you. Because you, my boyfriend, are a tempered little thing, that I adore so much and mentioning something like this would not only make you moody, it will also cause this stupid argument we’re having right now over something absolutely irrelevant.”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Kyungsoo looked to the side, where Yixing was looking from him to Jongin and back. “Jiyong asked you out on a date?”

Kyungsoo vaguely nodded, and he definitely didn’t expect Yixing’s eyes to widen and a wild grin to appear on his face, as he clapped like a madman, letting out a loud chuckle.

“Damn, Soo! You really must love Kai if Jiyong asking you out on a date is irrelevant to you…”

The center shook his head lighty, before turning back to Jongin.

“See? Even Yixing sees it. Why can’t you?” Kyungsoo leaned down closer, only centimeters away from jongin’s face. “I love _you_ , not Jiyong. Hell, I don’t even know him!”

When Kyungsoo felt a hand on his face, he knew that it was alright. He leaned into Kai’s palm and smiled.

“I know,” the younger one answered, lips ghosting over Kyungsoo’s. “And let’s keep it that way, alright?”

Kyungsoo smiled when he pressed their lips together, ignoring the muffled ‘ _gross_ ’ that Yixing let out from his bed.

* * *

Jongin was pushing the fries with his fork, not really feeling hungry at all. Taemin and Jonghyun were standing on the other side of the table and they were talking quietly. A group of girls in cheerleading uniforms passed by the table, greeting them cheerfully. And Jongin usually would at least have the decency to reply, but he didn’t even do that. However, he noticed his friends waving back at the girls. One of them, Anna, he thought, or Annie, broke apart from the group and approached their table, asking Jonghyun something about an assignment they needed to hand in by the end of the week. And if Jongin was stupid  he wouldn’t have noticed the smiles and the obvious flirting. He smirked a little, thinking about Key’s reaction to this. He’d pay to see it.

However, another thing grasped his attention and he turned to the side – an awfully loud group of people entered the cafeteria and it wasn’t hard to recognize the red varsity jackets and the players of YG.  

And it definitely wasn’t hard to locate the only person with strikingly red hair. When his eyes stopped on the captain of YG’s team, Jongin tensed up.

“You’re gonna do something stupid.” Taemin announced and Jongin threw a glance at his best friend, who shrugged nonchalantly. “You got that look.”

“I told you about it already. He fucking asked my boyfriend out!”

“So? It’s not like he accepted, right? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re such a drama queen.”

“I’m going to talk to him.” Jongin announced.

“And I hope you mean actual talking whe you’re saying that. Like, he, how’s the weather today, it looks good for a walk. Please tell me that’s what you mean when you’re saying you’re gonna talk to him.”

“I need to let him know that Kyungsoo is not a person he should play with because if he gets anywhere close to him, I will rip his head off.”

“Jongin, this is not talking. Sit your ass back down.”

“No. I’ll be back in two minutes.”

“Even for you this is a whole new mountain of stupid.” Taemin protested, before frowning. “I hope they don’t beat your ass. But I also hope that they do. I’d love to see that happen.”

But Jongin wans’t listening to him anymore. He was walking over to the table where the other team was sitting, maing confident steps, feeling his fists tighten.

“Ah,” it was Jiyong who spotted him first and looked up just when he stopped by his side. “Look who’s here. Hello, Kai. I assume you came to, what? Rub it In our faces?”

“I’d gladly do that after I finish talking to you.” The captain of SM announced, ignoring the other players and turning directly to GD. “Stay away from Kyungsoo, alright?”

“And why should I do that?”

“Because I heard you asked him out.” Jongin sneered. “And if it isn’t clear enough yet for you, he is not available.”

“So I am not allowed to ask people in relationships to hang out with me?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Leaving my boyfriend with the biggest fucking –“

“You know I’m not gay, right?” Jiyong interrupted him in the middle of his sentence, raising his eyebrows and Jongin squinted his eyes at him. “And you do know that I’m in a relationship…..for almost an year now….right?”

“You…are?” Jongin looked around the table and only now did he realize that among all these guys there was a girl sitting right next to the captain of the team – a pretty fierce looking thing, with heavy black eye makeup and eyebrows raised up so high from amuse that she looked like she’d slap jongin if he continued talking.

“This is Chaerin,” Jiyong nodded his head to her and jongin kind of felt like maybe he shouldn’t have come here in the first place but when the girl smirked to herself and jugged her chin out, Jongin could only furrow his eyebrows and look back to the captain. “She’s pretty much a girl, as you can see.”

“Then-….then why the hell would you ask my boyfriend out and-“

“I asked him out to hang out. Get a drink or something. Chill. Not on a date.”

Jongin closed his eyes for a second, breathing in deeply, before throwing YG’s team another look. Most of them seemed amused by this exchange. The guy with the pink hair was smirking and the blond next to him was trying to not so quietly assure everybody that he wouldn’t ever let their captain forget that.

So Jongin shook his head very lightly, before turning back to Jiyong.

“So about rubbing it in your faces?”

“Dude, you just practically called him gay. No need to be rude.” The pink haired soccer player grinned from his seat. “Besides, we’ll get next year.”

“I’d like to see that happen.” Jongin very weakly smirked at him, eyes running over all the guys in the team again. “Ah, and one more thing. Get out of my school.”

“I thought we were on good terms now that it’s clear that I’m not trying to steal your boyfriend.” Jiyong rolled his eyes and Jongin silenced him with an ice cold glare.

“After what your center did to Kyungsoo, you’re not really welcome here.”  

“Don’t you think that you’re a little bit too protective? Let your man live.”

“I am saying this as a captain to a captain. You know it was plain cheating and now I have a player with fractured ribs and a dislocated shoulder. We could file a complaint and Mino would be out of the league for the next three years.” Jongin said this, throwing a glance towards said center. “But we’re not going to do that, because the hurt player said it’s not necessary. Trust me, if I was talking as Kyungsoo’s boyfriend now, Mino’s nose wouldn’t have been that straight anymore.”

Jiyong raised an arm to stop the uproar of his players. Instead, he measured Jongin with a glance and nodded once, spreading out his hand.

“I need to admit it, Kai, you really are an interesting person. So immature, yet so mature.”

Jongin eyed the sprawled out hand, before he took it into a handshake – a tight, quick handshake, that ended with GD smiling up to him.

“We will leave soon. That was a nice game, Kai. But Taeyang said it, we’re gonna get you next year.”

“And as I said, I’d love to see that happen.”

* * *

Jongin returned to the table where Taemin and Jonghyun were waiting for him, eyes focused on him  while he was sitting own.

“What the hell was that for?” Jonghyun questioned and Jongin finally let out a sigh.

“He’s not gay. He has a girlfriend. This is amazing.”

“Good. Perfect. Uh, why is it amazing?”

“Because Kyungsoo’s safe from YG’s greedy fingers.”

“You got issues, man,” Jonghyun concluded, leaning back in his chair. “And let me guess. You’re not going to tell him?”

“That would be rude.” Taemin nudged the other one. “I mean, he thinks he got asked out on a date. Don’t let him think otherwise, this is actually flattering, whether he admits it or not.”

“Since when are you a damn expert on these stuff?” Jongin rolled his eyes, before turning to Jonghyun. “But he’s right. There’s no point in telling Kyungsoo, this thing is over with.”

“You may be right about this, but I can’t help but notice that there’s a lot of stuff you don’t tell your boyfriend.”

“What? I tell him everything!”

“Oh, really?” Jonghyun smirked and Jongin didn’t like that expression one bit. “Then say, did you tell him about high school you or are you still stalling?”

All color drained from the captain’s face.

“Don’t you _dare_.”

But they weren’t listening to him anymore. The only thing he could hear from those two was loud guffawing. And Jongin just sunk in his seat. So much embarrassment in a span of five minutes.

But then again, he felt somehow relieved. Somehow calm.

Somehow, just right.

* * *

Here, have it! /throws fluff

Oh my Goddddd, this took so long, and I apologize but sessions are coming and I'm dying.....

Someone asked me why this isn't featured, and to be honest, I understand nothing from these stuff. I just wanted to thank you all for always supporting this so much! So please, comment, let me know what you think! 

See you next time! ^^

 


	22. -21-

21

Many things happened in two months.

For starters, Kyungsoo got his cast off. He’d started to appreciate a lot of things after that – like the fact that he could eat properly, that he could dress himself up in a record time without hissing in discomfort, that he could run his hands freely through Jongin’s hair as he was pulling him closer. Such little things, that he hadn’t really paid attention to before.

Also, the exam sessions started all over again, but somehow without all the hours spent on the football field, studying seemed like the easiest thing to do. And study sessions with Jongin were making reading fun. Something Kyungsoo had been doubting was possible all his life.

But it wasn’t all about Kyungsoo and Jongin – many things happened to their friends as well. Kris had finally gathered the courage to invite Suho out on a date. The guys, of course, were all being ridiculously sarcastic about it all, but without Sehun’s comments that were making everything obvious for Kris and without Tao to document and back up Sehun’s statements, they wouldn’t have been the newly made couple to walk through the campus with tangled fingers.

Jonghyun had been promoted to the president of the music club – a great achievement he had been aiming for ever since he’d entered the university. Which resulted in him chasing after Kyungsoo almost every day, trying to get him to audition for the club, until finally Kyungsoo did. The experience made him learn one thing – don’t underestimate people like Jonghyun – people who look cute and fun at first, but then would prove themselves to be the biggest pain in the ass.

Many, many more things happened, like Kyungsoo’s mum who came to visit him one day without warning, almost catching him in the middle of something he didn’t want to be caught doing. Like Xiumin finally signing up for that barista course he had always been talking about. Like Lay deciding to bring a stray kitten in their dorm room, almost resulting in him and Kai getting kicked out of the student dorms.

But it was July already.

With every happily passing day, Kyungsoo’s heart was tightening even more and more, because soon enough the year would end. Almost half of the guys in the team were seniors, meaning that their graduation was approaching – day by day, surely and not slowly at all. Another one was an exchange student, who had to go back to his own university. Once again, just after the graduation and after the exams.

And it was a quiet evening he was spending in the dorm with a very dazed Baekhyun, who was sniffing pathetically from his bed, when Kyungsoo realized that the time he was keeping track on, the time they had together, was just drastically decreasing.

It happened with a loud notification for a new message in the group chat.

**Kevin:** If y’all think I’m leaving this place without a bang you’re wrong

“Kyungsoo?” he heard Baekhyun croak from the side and he acknowledged it with a silent hum. “Can you get me the nose drops please?”

“Go get them yourself.”

“Your compassion knows no bounds,” his roommate sniffed again, pushing his blankets very slowly, very tiredly. Kyungsoo threw a glance in his direction – he’d just finally found a way to lie down and have his laptop on himself without feeling like his neck was breaking. Did he _really_ have to get up? After a pointy look towards Baekhyun, who was barely moving, and after a very steady roll of his eyes, he set his laptop aside and pushed himself up.

“Of all the times to get sick…” Kyungsoo muttered, looking for Baekhyun’s stupid nose drops. “And where the hell is Chanyeol? Why do _I_ have to babysit you?!”

“He’s helping Kris get everything ready for the – “ a series of coughs interrupted his statement, before he slumped back down on his pillow. “Trip.”

“A trip?” Kyungsoo asked, brows slightly furrowed as he finally found the nose drops in the drawer and tossed them in Bakehyun’s direction. The runner didn’t catch them, he just let them fall on the mattress and then he started blindly looking for them, while Kyungsoo’s laptop made yet another sound for message notifications. Crawling back under his laptop, he opened them.

**Kevin:** Friday, I want all of you at the Southern Gates at 3 o’clock

**Kevin:** Bring just clothes for the weekend, we’ve got everything else covered

Kyungsoo blinked against his screen for a second, before turning to Baekhyun.

“So what’s this about?”

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun replied with a husky voice. “Chanyeol’s only going to drive one of the cars, that’s all. Even he doesn’t know.”

Kyungsoo let out a breath, before he closed the laptop and set it aside, picking up his cell, fingers moving over the display already by themselves, the motion so natural.

“Hey.” Jongin answered after the first ring.

“Hey.”  Kyungsoo smiled to nothing in particular, clutching the phone. “Do you want to go out? I’ve been trapped in the room with a bag of parasites for the last 5 hours and I don’t think I can stand anymore sniffing and coughing.”

Kyungsoo smirked when he simultaneously heard Jongin chuckling and Baekhyun complaining.

“Sure, why not?”

“OK, then…after ten minutes in front of B-building?”

“You know…Yixing said he’ll be working late today in the studios, so maybe if -…I was thinking that maybe you could come here and we-“

“You’re so awkward.” Kyungsoo laughed, pushing himself up with a little grin. “I’ll be there.”

He hung up and threw his phone to the side, already pulling clothes out of his wardrobe, not minding the fact that Bakehyun’s stare was burning holes in his back.

“You know, you have to appreciate me more, you asshole!”

Kyungsoo snorted, pulling a T-shirt over his head.

“So you’ll just leave me here alone? And what if-...what if I get sick?”

“You’re already sick.”

“Yeah, but what if I get sicker? Like, what if I start feeling really really bad?”

“You’ll live.”

“Yeah, but what if-“

“Then you can call me so that I can get your ass back up.” Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows in his best friend’s direction. “Was that appreciative enough?”

“You’re still an asshole.”

“I don’t plan on coming back soon tonight, so you can call Chanyeol over if you want.”

“And you’re still gross.”

* * *

When they arrived at the gates (barely, because Baekhyun was complaining every two minutes that he needed a break and because Chen forgot his luggage so he had to go back), Kyungsoo realized that they’d gotten at the exact right time, because of booming laughter.

He wasn’t shocked to see a few of the guys already there, including Jongin, pushing bags into the cars, checking stuff off a list (Suho) and just quarrelling with each other. And exactly that caught his attention – Kris shutting the door of his vehicle and straightening up. However, the brown locks of hair weren’t there, shortly trimmed, almost shaved off his head. He definitely hadn’t expected that.

“When you said you were going to go with a bang, I didn’t expect that!” Chen started laughing from the side, earning himself a glare and a snappy response, before he marched forward to Chanyeol’s car. And Kyungsoo was already walking towards Jongin’s truck, Baekhyun following not so quietly, complaining and still coughing.

“You’re still sick,” Kyungsoo mused, throwing his bag along with Baekhyun’s in the trunk. “You should stay at home and just, I don’t know, sleep.”

“And miss this? Are you crazy?” Bakehyun snorted, jumping inside of the other car with Chanyeol and Chen, leaving Kyungsoo shaking his head in vain.

“He’s impossible, really.” Kyungsoo frowned, turning to Jongin. “What if we’re going camping again? What if I have to share a tent with him again? Ugh.”

“Well I saw no tents in the cars, so that’s a good sign.”

Kyungsoo sighed out when Jongin’s hands crawled around his middle, pulling him closer by his waist. He felt the other one’s hot breath fanning over his lips.

“So you really have no idea where we’ll be going?”

“Nope. Kris only gave me the address for the GPS. It’s somewhere at the sea.”

“As if I needed more salt in my life.”

“Hey, what’s with the attitude?” Jongin bumped him lightly, pressing their foreheads together. “It looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.”

“I woke up on _your_ bed today,” Kyungsoo reminded, then pressed their lips together quickly. “And I’m just kind of stressed about this. Kris’ parties never end well for me.”

“Well, I mean…it’s not like we met because one of those.”

“Yes, when some dude was about to hit me. How great.”

“Stop being so negative. Everything will be fine, OK?” Jongin locked their lips together again, this time for longer, pulling Kyungsoo closer. And the older one appreciated that, clung to his boyfriend tightly and let himself enjoy this little moment, before someone moved past them, deliberately pushing them.

“I think I’ll vomit. And to think I’ll have to ride in the same car as you…KRIS! ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE NO SPACE LEFT IN THERE?!”

“Suck it up, idiot,” Jongin finally let go of Kyungsoo to smack Sehun playfully. “Besides, you’re not one to talk. Why’d I even agree to let you and Luhan ride in my car? You are nasty.”

“Luhan’s shy, unlike you two.”

“Didn’t sound shy to me the other day.” Minseok remarked from the side. “I think the whole dorm heard you.”

“And I think that’s none of your business.” A very flustered, a very red looking Luhan declared, eyes darting towards Sehun. “Get in the car! _Now!_ ”

And while those two were engaged in a very heated, hushed argument on the side, Kyungsoo laughed and looked at Jongin again.

“Are you sure it will all be fine?”

Kyungsoo smiled lightly when Jongin crunched up his nose.

“We’ve seen worse….come on, let’s go!”

* * *

The huge villa belonged to Kris’ family, that’s the only explanation Kyungsoo got when they stepped out of the cars and questioned where they were. And one huge villa it was, the center was musing quietly to himself, when they all stepped through the main door and found themselves in a very modern, very bright looking room, with a glass wall giving them a perfect view of the sea only about 300 meters away.

“So I made a list.”

“Of course you did.” Sehun sighed and Suho settled with only throwing a glare in his direction, as he took out a folder, very similar to the one he used for the football techniques.

“OK. Me and Kris will be staying in his room. Luhan, Sehun – you’re in his parents’ room, last room on the second floor. Kyungsoo and Jongin, first guest room, second floor as well. Chanyeol and Baekhyun, third floor first room, and the others, third floor the room next to theirs. Is that fine?”

“Certainly not! I don’t wanna be in a room next to Chanyeol and Baekhyun! I won’t be able to sleep at all!”

“Oh shut up, Chen!” Baekhyun sneered from the side. “You could use the chance to try and seduce Minseok, instead of being an asshole.”

“Besides, last time I checked I wasn’t into necrophilia.”

“What is that supposed to mean, Park Chanyeol?!”

“Shut up, you lot.” Kris rolled his eyes. “Chen, you can sleep on the couch, for all I care. Go and leave your stuff in the rooms and we’ll meet back here in ten minutes, OK?”

“How about we make that twenty?” Sehun smirked, picking up his bag and throwing a glance towards Suho before sliding past Kris, pulling Luhan by his hand. “Let’s not rush things.”

Kyungsoo didn’t even know what was going on anymore, when Kris caught Sehun by the elbow and Suho started lecturing him or when Tao started laughing from the side, Lay watching around in confusion and Xiumin just shaking his head. He only knew that he felt a hand wrap itself around his waist and when he looked up Jongin was smiling.

“Let’s just go.” The captain said quietly and Kyungsoo nodded, grabbing his bag and following Kai around the crowd towards the stairs.

* * *

Nobody followed Suho’s plans. But nonetheless, everything seemed to be just perfect. The beach, the company of friends, the sun, the outings, the dinner, that Sehun and Chen provided after their outing to the local supermarket, meaning instant noodles.

And it was late night already, all of them chilling in the living room, eyes fixated on the wide TV screen in front on the comedy movie, but Jongin’s thoughts were elsewhere. He couldn’t focus on the movie, but instead he was thinking about the entire day they spent together, eyes flashing between the football players, from Kris and Suho, who were sitting at the other side of the couch, to Xiumin, who was letting Chen lean on him, to Luhan, who was shoving popcorn in Sehun’s mouth, to Tao, who was asking everybody around what was happening in the movie because he still couldn’t fully understand it.

The only thing he could focus on was that, Kyungsoo’s words from a few days back getting to him now. Finally he was understanding. Finally it was sinking in.

This was it.

This was the end.

They would be leaving so soon, they wouldn’t be around anymore. Not in the team, not on the campus, not around him. They’d be _gone_.

He felt himself pulling back, moving his chin away from Kyungsoo’s shoulder and heaving out a quiet sigh, causing the shorter one in his arms to turn slightly and give him a questioning look.

“You OK?” Kyungsoo barely whispered seconds later, brows furrowed in a concerned expression.

Jongin looked around the room once again, before tightening his hands around Kyungsoo’s waist, pulling him even closer and planting a soft kiss on his neck.

He didn’t reply.

* * *

The Sunday at Kris’ villa was even louder, even more tiring and even more satisfying than the day before. Kyungsoo found himself having so much fun, just like every time all of them were out together. Baekhyun seemed to be feeling better already (thank God Kyungsoo hadn’t let him enter the sea the day before), cracking jokes left and right, getting on everybody’s nerves.

Suho took it upon himself to go to the market this time so they actually had real food for lunch. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were burdened with the task to make it edible, meaning they were in the kitchen with ten other boys coming in every two minutes to ask when the meal would be ready.

“Are you sure you have to bake that?!” Lay had whined at some point, shoving a finger in the mix Kyungsoo had so carefully prepared and then shoving it in his mouth. “I mean, it’s good like this. Can’t we eat that?”

“There are raw eggs in this, you uncultured-…” Kyungsoo sighed out in the middle of his sentence, before slapping Yixing’s hand away from the bowl at his second attempt to eat batter. “Why don’t you go help Xiumin set up the table, hm?”

“Or I could go nap.”

“You do that, champ.” Chanyeol chided in from the side, as Lay eventually left the room. “You see, that’s how people who don’t know how to cook are.”

“Uh, mind you, most of us can cook. For example, I can-“

“Frying instant noodles with honey doesn’t count, Sehun.” Chanyeol interrupted, before waving his spatula in the air nonchalantly. “I was saying, people who can’t cook can’t really appreciate the art that cooking is. The effort and the the time we pour into creating these -“

“You say another word and I’ll shove that spatula in your mouth.”

“Yeah!” Sehun chanted quietly from the side, dipping his finger in the batter while the other two weren’t looking. “You tell him, Kyungsoo!”

The shorter one rolled his eyes, with a rueful smile on his lips.

* * *

“Give me the marshmallows.”

“Wait, I’m not ready yet!”

“God, Xiumin, just take one and pass it on!”

“Will you shut up? You don’t even have your biscuits ready. Do you even know how you’re supposed to make s’mores?!”

“I’ve seen it before…in movies.”

“Tao, just….just shut up. I’ll make yours for you.”

Jongin smirked to himself just seconds before something started poked his lips and he looked down to see Kyungsoo holding a ready one for him to eat.

“Thanks.” He whispered, before taking it in his hands and leaning back on the towels they had sprawled on the beach, with the fire in the middle.

It was a quiet evening, a quiet and a very nice one. They had to go and sleep in early this night, because they needed to drive all the way back to SM the next day, so they let themselves enjoy a nice chat around the fire with beer cans in their hands and two extra big marshmallow packages for them to devour before they went to bed.

“Man, that’s nice, isn’t it?” Luhan chided in after a while, breaking the silence. “I sure will miss it.”

And Jongin, for the first time today, started thinking about everything again. He lowered down the s’more, looking around the circle the guys had formed around the fire. And somehow, for the first time he started noticing that it wasn’t only him who was trying to conceal the long face. Because on the other side, Suho was hiding his face in Kris’ shoulder. Because it was Chen who was biting on his lip while playing with the stick in his hands not looking up. Because it were Baekhyun and Chanyeol who were staying quiet, which was just unusual. Because it was Lay blinking way too fast and because it was Kyungsoo whose fingers entwined with his and it was him who grasped his hand tightly, holding on.

“I will miss it too.” Kris spoke quietly, wrapping a hand around Suho’s shoulders.

“Yes. It just won’t be the same anymore, will it?” Baekhyun sighed out. “It will be so quiet at lunch and the team won’t be _our_ team anymore.”

“And I won’t have the coolest roommate anymore.” Sehun said, throwing a look towards Tao (and Jongin had to double check because that’s the last thing he’d been expecting from his bratty friend).

“And half of my friends will be gone and I’ll be stuck with Baekhyun, Chanyeol _and_ Chen…” Kyungsoo heaved a sigh and Jongin actually let out a chuckle amidst the protests of the three others. “But hey, guys, get it together.”

Jongin blinked a few times, before he felt Kyungsoo grasping his hand tighter and sending a smile in his direction.

“Sure, we won’t be together all the time anymore, but someone told me something before. That is far from goodbye. Just because we won’t be together, doesn’t mean that we won’t be friends anymore, right? And I have to say, I agree with that.”

There were a few moments of silence, everybody staring at Kyungsoo, before Xiumin let out a quiet chuckle.

“To be honest, Kyungsoo, I wasn’t expecting that from you, but you’re right. Whoever told you that is right.”

“That would be the best football captain I’ve ever met.”

Jongin looked down to look at his boyfriend, who was already looking up and he couldn’t help but smile, raise his arm and cup the other one’s face, pulling him closer.

It was a very fast kiss, a peck, but it felt like a promise. All the unspoken words he didn’t know he needed.

“Get a room, you two.” Chen interrupted the moment, causing laughter. “Best captain, you say. Not the best description for Kai. I’d go for satanic offspring with mental issues.”

“I’d watch that tongue if I were you, Chen.” Xiumin bumped his shoulder with his lightly. “He may be all that, but you’re still on the team and he’s still the captain.”

“And I may be mental, but at least I’m doing what I have to do. And I just found the perfect somebody to clean the locker rooms this semester.” Jongin raised his eyebrows lightly, and his beer. “Cheers, Jongdae.”

“Fucker.”

* * *

It wasn’t all that pretty when it actually started happening though.

The first ones to leave were Kris, Tao and Luhan.

Kyungsoo hadn’t imagined that it would be so heartbreaking to have to see someone off to an airport, to have to go and watch Sehun trying to keep himself together, because his best friend and his boyfriend were leaving together. It wasn’t easy to see Suho losing his composure as soon as Kris leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead. It wasn’t easy to have to hug the guys, knowing that it was the last time for a long, long time.

It wasn’t easy to see Jongin quietly shaking when they started retreating and it definitely wasn’t easy when Suho broke down completely when the guys walked through the gates and out of sight. When he leaned on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and started crying his heart out. When they eventually walked back to the cars in complete silence, only a few sobs to be heard now and then.

It definitely wasn’t easy.

And it wasn’t easy either, only a few days later when they had to send off XIumin and Suho as well. Even though they weren’t leaving the country, it was just as sad and tragic as the first time around.

For Kyungsoo, Suho was one of the closest people he had on the team, after Jongin. It was hard to know that he wouldn’t be around anymore, that he wouldn’t be able to talk to him as much.

For Chen, as well, apparently, because he let out a very sloppy, a very teary confession, when they were parting their ways and it was Xiumin, who held him close with a small smile.

“Of all the times to tell me…”

And Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile sadly, watching luggages getting thrown in cars, watching the guys wiping off tears (even Chanyeol who had been holding it quite well until now), watching them hug tightly, holding each other a tad longer.

_This isn’t a goodbye_ , he had to remind himself every time he felt his eyes watering, _it’s very far from a goodbye_.

And eventually, he waved after the cars that were driving away from the campus.

Eventually, he hugged Jongin, holding him tightly.

Eventually, he’d pretend he didn’t hear him choke back a sob, because he knew.

For himself, it was hard.

And for Jongin, who’d known them all for ages, who’d been together with them on the same team for years…

Kyungsoo couldn’t even start to imagine what that must have felt like, so all he could do was hold him tight and not let go.

* * *

_2 months later_

“Shut up, will you?”

“You know what? You’re being mean and I won’t tolerate this attitude of yours.” Baekhyun stood up from his bed and grabbed his phone, making quite the show out of it. “I’ll just go over at Chanyeol, since he doesn’t seem to have a stick up his ass.”  

“Good. Fine. At least you won’t be here, talking _all the damn time_.” Kyungsoo snapped back, turning his attention back to the books.

Time was passing, but some things would never change. Baekhyun, for example. He couldn’t grasp the concept of studying quite well yet, making Kyungsoo’s life at the beginning of the new semester simply hard.

So he actually felt relief when he heard the door of their dorm room shutting closed. Now he’d finally be able to concentrate on his homework and all the stuff he needed to memorize.

It was September again and after the holidays, after the carefree summer, university slapped Kyungsoo hard. Like, really hard.

The studies were getting harder and harder, more and more books that had to be read piling up on Kyungsoo’s desk without mercy.

The time never seemed to be enough, with Jonghyun following him around in the breaks, reminding him constantly not to forget about the music club meetings and coming up to him with new offers for songs and questions about compositions.

His relationship with Jongin was getting steadier and steadier, the more time they spent together the more they seemed to fit and understand each other.

The summer they’d almost fully spent together, going out every day, either alone or meeting up with friends, and sometimes Kyungsoo wondered what life even had been like before he met the football captain (and Baekhyun was always there to remind him that he’d simply been a nerd and that he still was one).

But it was fine. Everything was fine and Kyungsoo found himself getting used to the new set rhythm of life. Everything was falling into place, like it was supposed to.

And it was later that night, just when he’d been about to stop reading because his eyes couldn’t take it anymore, he received a notification for a message, so he opened his laptop and ruefully smiled at the message box.

**kimkaaaaaa:** Don’t forget about tomorrow…

And Kyungsoo shook his head, heaving out a sigh.

How could he forget?

* * *

“You’re _late_.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry!” Kyungsoo rushed forward to him and tiptoed to peck his lips hurriedly before he pulled out his jersey from the bag he tossed to the side. “Apparently, some people thought it would be smart to come back home at _two fucking am_. “

“I’m sorry, but it’s not my fault you’re a light sleeper.” Baekhyun shrugged from the side, a very knowing smirk on his face that somehow hinted that he wasn’t sorry. At all. The captain rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, the coach is waiting outside, so hurry up.”

And he watched as both his boyfriend and Baekhyun hurried to lock up their bags, to take the balls from the ground, bickering all the time while doing so.

“Come on,” Jongin said hesitantly, as they finally finished and walked up to him, a small smile making its way to his lips. “We’ve got a team to fill.”

* * *

“That guy’s good.” Kyungsoo hummed, watching as Baekhyun passed the ball and said guy caught it effortlessly from the other side of the field.

“I think so, too.” Jongin muttered from the side, eyes boring down in the list. “Taeyong?”

“Kinda sounds like Taeyeon.” Kyungsoo smirked.

“Taeyeon? The music club president?”

“Better don’t say this in front of Jonghyun or he’ll honestly skin you alive.”

Jongin smirked to himself, holding his helmet tight as his eyes scanned the field, stopping on Baekhyun who was instructing everybody to line up for the goal shooting.

And Jongin was just watching as, one by one, they started kicking the ball towards the goal posts, some failing, others succeeding barely, only a few managing to do it properly, catching the captian’s attention.

“Look at them. They’re so good.” Kyungsoo muttered from the side and Jongin looked towards him when he felt a nudge on his side. “You think we can get more of them in and get rid of Baekhyun instead?”

“Sounds like a very rational, very un-biased plan.”

“We could take Chanyeol out as well, while we’re at it.”

Jongin shook his head again, a smile playing on his lips as he squinted his eyes and started observing the players. And he was watching carefully, not missing a single move from anybody, before the coach instructed him and Kyungsoo to go forward and join them for the following rounds. After all, this time they weren’t only recruiting one player.

They were recruiting a lot of people for SM’s football team, and they had to do this properly.

* * *

“I’ll now read the names of the people who made it to the team.” Jongin announced and Kyungsoo simply stood beside Baekhyun one step behind, watching the younger people in front of them flinch nervously.

Kyungsoo remembered how he’d felt about one year ago, in their place, when his best friend had dragged him to the tryouts for the center of the team. He suddenly remembered it like it had only happened yesterday, how anxious he had been, how deeply head of heels he had been for Jongin, how that day had changed everything for him.

“Johnny, Hansol, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Ten, Yuta, Taeil and Doyoung. You guys stay. The others can leave.”

“You can try again next year!” Baekhyun chided in, as they watched more than half of the guys stepping away, obviously disappointed. “You were all great!”

“Better than you, yeah.”

“Shut it, penguin.”

“Oh, bite me.”

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“Will you two fucking stop that?” Jongin turned around. No, Kai. And Kyungsoo immediately straightened and looked towards his boyfriend who was throwing amused glances from him to Baekhyun and back. “Is now the time?”

“Let me.” Baekhyun smirked and stepped forward, eyes scanning all the guys who were now standing in a line, confusion written all over their faces. “I’m going to let Kai scare you all to death, cause that’s what he’s good at. I’ll just tell you that if you can’t deal with things like that or if you for some reason get easily offended or like, I don’t know, are sensitive and shit, then your place isn’t in that team.”

“Oh, shut up, Baekhyun.”

“What? It’s true!”

“Baekhyun!” Kai hissed. “Why don’t you go tell the coach that we’ll need the old gameplan, hm?”

“Baekhyun?! _Baekhyun?!_ Why me? You know, you’re playing favorites here and that’s very unfair. I will go tell him that we need the gameplan and I will also tell him that we need to vote for a new captain cause ours seems to have something against freedom of expression.”

Kyungsoo was barely holding in his laughter. He actually was so confused, but he had long ago given up on trying to understand his best friend. Instead, he waited until he was in the building, until Kai shot him an entertained look, before turning back to the younger guys, mostly freshmen.  

“You might think I’m joking now, but he said it. In our team what’s important is the relationship we have with one another and if you think you won’t be able to handle this, now’s the time to leave. IF you think it’s going to be OK to just come to the trainings, you’re wrong. You’re going to be in the team, so that means you try to fit in, you do everything necessary to build a bond with the others, to understand the teamwork we have worked so hard on. We clear?” Meek nods, quiet, hushed replied. Mistake, Kyungsoo smirked to himself. “I SAID, ARE WE CLEAR?!”

The responses after Kai raised his tone were audible, and Kyungsoo smirked to himself again. He remembered one year ago, that introduction had been different. So, so different. Kai had changed so much.

“Good. Since we’re clear, I expect you all to try and give us your best from now on. Some of you will be regulars, others will be in the utility. But nonetheless, you’re all part of this team, alright?”

Another series of nods, this time more confident.

“Good. Anything you want to add, Kyungsoo?”

The center simply shrugged, feeling all these eyes directed at him. A small smirk.

“The bar’s set very high for all of you.”

A few moments of silence, before the captain nodded.

“Yes. And in order to keep up with that, you need to give your all for the team. Start with five laps around the field.” A few moments of silence and blinking. “What are you waiting for?! Now! Go!”

And Kyungsoo couldn’t help but laugh when the boys confusedly started looking around, breaking into runs one after another, under Kai’s strict gaze.

“Don’t you think you’re too strict? Making them train after they’ve been having tryouts until now?”

“You’re not one to speak. ‘The bar’s set very high for you’. What the hell was that for?!”

“It was the truth!” Kyungsoo laughed, eyes following the guys that were enthusiastically running around. “It’s not like you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

“That’s totally irrelevant. You don’t say stuff like this to the new kids. We don’t want them to be replicas of the guys that left. We just want them to fit in.”

“Funny, that’s not what you told me when I saw you for the first time at this field.” Kyungsoo finally looked away from the boys and towards Jongin, who was already staring at him.  “The captain back then called us all idiots and I am pretty sure he told us to try out for cheerleaders if we didn’t make the cut for the team…”

“Damn. Sounds like an asshole.”

“Oh, he was one, yeah.” Kyungsoo confirmed, stepping closer, letting Jongin’s hands slip around his waist. “But somewhere under all that toughness he ended up being a sensitive, nice guy.”

“Sensitive, nice guy’s a bit….it just doesn’t sound right.”

“And cute, funny, genuine, loving, caring and-“

“Okay, I get it. I’m like, the best.”

“That, you are.” Kyungsoo smiled when Jongin leaned down and locked their lips together for a very inappropriate kiss in the middle of the field, as if there was nobody around. And Kyungsoo simply didn’t seem to care, because all that mattered was this.

“I love you, shrimpy.”

Kyungsoo chuckled out loud, a wave of emotions washing over him, as he wrapped his hands around Jongin’s neck, pulling him closer to whisper quietly before locking their lips again.

“Oh trust me, I know.”

And somehow, this moment, although they were in the middle of the football field, although there was a bunch of tired boys running around them, although there were people on the bleachers.

This moment.

It was everything.

* * *

HELLO OH MY GOD

First of all, I am so sorry I kept you waiting for so damn long, I never expected to be that busy I am really, truly sorry...

Second, I bullshitted this chapter so badly but I am going MIA from Monday again so i wanted to post it as soon as possible...it's the last 'official' chapter. I will be adding the epilogue as soon as I can :)

And third, all these months I was gone, you guys never stopped subscribing and commenting and for that I am extremely grateful. I am glad you enjoy this story so thank you! Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me!

And I guess I'll leave it at that here, so until next time! And a thousand more times again, thank you! ^^

 


	23. Epilogue

 

Epilogue

 

** _Three years later_ **

Kyungsoo didn’t quite understand why people were always so melodramatic after leaving college. It’s not like the world was ending. Sure, it was a bit hard to get on his feet at first, but other than that everything seemed to be just fine.

He got his first job within a few months after graduating, so he couldn’t really complain. One year later, his boss decided that he was actually a pretty damn decent architect, so he started getting solo projects and that was making him just ecstatic. He was doing well.

But then again, he wasn’t alone. He didn’t have to go through any of these things alone and maybe that’s why it was easier.

Jongin was always by his side, never leaving. He also got a job immediately after graduating. It was easier for him, he just started working at his parents’ company. He was complaining sometimes, that it wasn’t really what he wanted to do, but ever since Kyungsoo suggested it, the younger one signed up as a volunteer coach for the university’s team. He only had to go to some of the team’s practices and ever since he started doing that, Kyungsoo had noticed how much happier he seemed. After all, he _was_ Kai.

After graduation, they have found a first, little apartment for themselves, and they moved in together. Kyungsoo couldn’t quite forget these days because when he told his parents about it, they were incredibly confused as to why their son would move in with some guy from the team. However, when Kyungsoo eventually had to explain later on that he was dating Jongin, things weren’t that pretty.

He preferred not to think about it a lot. His father had thrown a tantrum back then, threatening to disown him. And Kyungsoo had screamed back at him for the first time in his life. He’d said he didn’t care. He had fought with his father for a long time back then. He even refused to return home for Christmas that year, although Jongin was trying to convince him that his family was more important than him. Kyungsoo wasn’t buying that at all.

And eventually, somehow, his father came to terms with it (Kyungsoo hadn’t asked but he was pretty sure his mother had helped) and he apologized. Kyungsoo was glad he wasn’t fighting with him anymore, he was glad his father had accepted Jongin as a part of his life now, even though he couldn’t help but notice the dirty looks his dad would throw at his boyfriend whenever they were visiting.

On the other hand, Jongin’s parents were more than accepting. In fact, they were _too_ accepting. Kyungsoo couldn’t quite understand how people could be so kind, not even after three years. It always seemed to surprise him whenever Jongin’s mother would greet him with kisses and hugs, how Jongin’s father would always sit down with him and joke around, ask about their lives, sometimes even throw in questions and remarks that would make him blush. Kyungsoo liked spending time with him, because apparently they liked _him_.

And as for him and Jongin, everything was just perfect. Their relationship was just progressing upwards, everything was more than just fine, it was divine.

Of course, just like any other couple, they had their ups and downs. They had had a lot of fights during the past three years, some ridiculous and some more serious. Kyungsoo remembered the time him and Jongin didn’t speak for an entire weekend because they couldn’t stop fighting over the color of the curtains for their living room. He remembered how he went back home to his parents when Jongin really pissed him off for something really stupid. He remembered fights about insignificant things, stupid small things.

However, he also remembered some bigger fights. He remembered the time when he got one of his first solo projects, he used to spend so much time with his client, so much time in the office rather than at home. He used to come home really late and that seemed to have concerned Jongin a lot because one day he came to see him at work and saw him sitting in the late hours alone in the office with his client – a young, kind man who wanted to take part in the planning of his future home. Jongin didn’t understand back then, he blamed Kyungsoo that he was cheating on him and that was pretty much the biggest fight they’ve ever had. Kyungsoo remembered fighting so much about this, he remembered how angry he was to even break up with Jongin because of it.

And that, it lasted for about one week, before Jongin knocked on the door of Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s home, because he just knew Kyungsoo would be there. And the shorter one still remembered just seeing his boyfriend walk in with a very broken expression on his face, he remembered just standing up and running towards Jongin and vice versa, he remembered how they just embraced each other without saying a single word, how he was the first one to tiptoe and kiss Jongin and listen to him whisper quiet apologies. And after that, everything went back to normal.

Kyungsoo believed that such things only made their relationship stronger. It made _them_ stronger.

If someone had told Kyungsoo a few years ago that there would be a person he’d love more than anything else in the word, he would have scoffed and told them to be real. However, Jongin seemed to have changed his view on love, because now Kyungsoo couldn’t even imagine his life without the younger boy. He was pretty damn sure he would do anything in the world for him. He loved him that much.

And he knew he was loved just as much.

So that was that. Life was perfect.

More than perfect.

And there was nothing else Kyungsoo could have ever wished for.

* * *

Okay, maybe there was one thing.

A new phone number.

Why? Because even though Byun Baekhyun hasn’t been his roommate for a long time now, even though they didn’t see each other every day, even though they were responsible adults with steady jobs and a shit ton of student loans to pay back, the latter always seemed to find a good reason to call Kyungsoo and bother him out throughout the whole day.

Kyungsoo couldn’t say he really disliked that, not really, for Baekhyun was the person keeping everybody together. Had it not been for him and his constant calls to everybody from the former team, Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if they still would have been keeping in touch as much as they were now. He had to admit it, Baekhyun was the soul of their friendship circle and he had to thank him for his effort someday.

“What do you want _now_?!” Kyungsoo trapped his phone between his head and shoulder, trying to decide if a window should be placed on the southern wall of the house he was constructing, or not. “I’m busy.”

“Yeah, sure, you’re busy,” Baekhyun’s voice sounded cheerful. “It’s not like you have much else to do, so you can give me five minutes.”

“Two. What do you want?”

“Asshole…anyway, I talked with Suho today, him and Kris are coming to Seoul for the holidays!”

Kyungsoo felt himself letting go of the pencil and grabbing the phone instead.

“They are? That’s amazing!”

“I know, right? So anyway, I talked with Suho and he really wanted to meet everybody, so we should think about organizing something.”

“Yeah! Yeah, of course. That would be great.” Kyungsoo felt a smile blooming on his lips. He hasn’t seen Suho and Kris in almost an year now, only from their occasional Skype calls, but this was different.

Same for Tao and Lay. He had last seen them a long time ago. Luhan had moved back to Korea, though, for Sehun, so whenever Jongin would invite his best friend over, Luhan was tagging along and Kyungsoo got to meet him quite often. The rest of the guys hadn’t gone anywhere, so it was easier to meet them.

But Suho and Kris, hearing that they were going to come back, it really made him happy.

“That’s really amazing,” Kyungsoo sighed out, as he pushed his chair away from the desk in the work room in their apartment. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“I know, me too!”

And Kyungsoo was just sitting there, listening to Baekhyun going on and on about his plans, and he was actually enjoying this conversation, for once. He was listening and actually giving out ideas for a place where they could meet, he was excited to help Baekhyun with this. He wanted to meet his friends. All of them, together. It’s been so long…

And also before he knew it it must have gotten a bit late, because he heard the front door unlocking and an even wider smile made its way to his lips.

“Hey, Jongin’s at home. I need to go.”

“Is Jongin more important than me and what we’re discussing now…wait, don’t answer that, I don’t need you to get all sentimental.”

“We’ve been discussing everything for almost an hour, Baek. I’ll just text you later. Or call you tomorrow, alright?”

“Tch. Fine.”

Kyungsoo hung up, not paying attention to Baekhyun’s unhappy scoff at the end of the conversation. _Whatever_ , he tried to make himself feel less guilty, _he’ll just end up calling Jongdae probably._ Instead of thinking about him, though, Kyungsoo pushed himself up from the chair and made his way to the hallway and when he reached the door, he couldn’t help but smile at Jongin, who was hanging up his jacket and pushing off his shoes clumsily, looking amazingly fine in his jeans and creamy pullover. Cheeks red from the stinging wind outside.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo said quietly from the side and waited for the younger one to look up and to give him his precious, perfect smile. He didn’t hesitate to move forward and wrap his hands around his boyfriend’s neck. “You look tired.”

“I _am_ tired,” Jongin chuckled, wrapping his hands around Kyungsoo’s waist and planting a soft, quick kiss on his lips like it was the most normal thing in the world. “My father started some negotiations for lands for a new company building and he sent me there to talk with the people. It was a mess, I don’t think they want to sell us anything.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo let out an understanding sigh, not asking further questions, because Jongin seemed like this was the last thing he wanted to talk about at the moment. Instead, he lowered his hands to Jongin’s shoulders, squeezing them tightly. “It sounds tiring. Are you hungry? There are some leftovers from last night if you-“

“I ate out with my dad, it’s fine.”

“Okay then,” Kyungsoo smiled and pecked him on the lips quickly. “Go change then and then we can watch something if you want.”

He let go of Jongin and watched as the younger one disappeared through the door for their bedroom. Kyungsoo smiled to himself lightly and headed for the kitchen, pulling out two glasses and that bottle of wine they’d gotten from Minseok when they changed apartments after both of them became more financially stable, when life started working out. It was a wine they hadn’t opened yet, but Kyungsoo thought that Jongin needed that now.

He took everything in his hands and headed for the living room and he wasn’t surprised to see Jongin there already, sitting on the couch in an oversized T-shirt and sweatpants. With his disheveled hair he looked like a boy and Kyungsoo smiled yet again.

“Wine? Isn’t that a bit too fancy?” Jongin laughed when Kyungsoo set up the glasses in front of them and poured the drink. He then pulled him in his lap, taking the glass Jongin offered in his free hand, the one that wasn’t wrapped around Kyungsoo.

“Well I thought you needed it, you had a rough day, didn’t you?” Kyungsoo shrugged and Jongin pecked him on the cheek. The older one smirked. “Besides, we have a reason to celebrate.”

“Oh?” Jongin seemed intrigued when he raised an eyebrow and straightened up. “What is it?”

“Well,” Kyungsoo tilted his head, a smile already blooming on his face because he knew just how much Jongin would _love_ this. “I was just talking with Baekhyun and guess what!”

“What?”

“Give it a shot!” Kyunsoo laughed and Jongin pouted.

“I...I don’t know? He found out he can survive without calling you every two hours?”

“I wish,” Kyugnsoo snorted and then shook his head. “No. It’s better!”

“What could be better than that, you’ve been complaining for months.” Jongin smiled. And Kyungsoo only gave him a look because he was aware that Jongin, out of all people, knew he didn’t mind Baekhyun’s calls. At all. “Tell me, then! What is it?”

“Suho and Kris. They’re coming to Korea for the holidays next month!”

Kyungsoo watched as Jongin’s face gradually became brighter and the smile reached his eyes, as his grip on Kyungsoo tightened.

“What? That’s great! Really?!”

“Yes, really,” Kyungsoo laughed. “And me and Baekhyun were thinking about making a reunion, you know. We can gather all the guys from the team. Just like the good old days.”

Jongin was quiet for a few seconds, but Kyungsoo could see his eyes twinkling. He could see how happy his boyfriend was.

“That’s…that’s really awesome, Soo...you don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve met everybody.”

“Oh, I know,” the older one ran his hand through Jongin’s locks. “We just talked about it now, though, we’ll have to organize everything, we’ll have to call Yixing and Tao, we’ll have to tell all the other guys…it should work out nicely, right?”

Jongin didn’t reply, but lowered his head to press his lips against Kyungsoo’s. And that was enough of an answer, really.

Kyungsoo smiled in the kiss and moved his free hand up to Jongin’s neck, pulling him even closer. He felt Jongin moving from under him, pushing him back on the couch and changing their position, only deepening the kiss. And Kyungsoo totally forgot for just this one second that he was holding a glass full of wine and he was about to hug Jongin, which resulted in the drink spilling all over the younger one, Kyungsoo letting out a loud gasp at the realization of what he’d done.

“ _Oh, shit_...Oh, I’m so sorry, I-“

“No harm done,” Jongin actually laughed, eyes looking down towards the red stain on his shirt, towards the liquid trickling down, threatening to get on the couch. Jongin stood up quickly and in a matter of seconds returned with napkins in his hands, dealing with the mess Kyungsoo had done. The older shook his head frantically, and stood up from the couch.

“I’ll go get you something dry to change into.”

But as he was about to turn around, Jongin grabbed his wrist and pulled him around and next thing Kyungsoo knew, his chest was pressed against Jongin’s tightly and he let out a sound of protest.

“Hey! You’re getting that all over me.” He laughed when Jongin trapped him even tighter in his arms. “Hey, let go! Now I need to change my clothes too!”

Jongin laughed again – a soft, quiet sound that made Kyungsoo shiver.

“You don’t have to.”

“Jongin, I’m serious. It’s all wet and it will stain and-“

“I know something we can do that doesn’t require _any_ clothes.”

Kyungsoo stopped struggling in Jongin’s hands and instead turned to look at him. He felt a smile spreading on his lips when he laid his hands on Jongin’s chest, feeling the firm muscles under the fabric of the shirt. All worries he’d had only seconds ago were evaporating, getting replaced by something new. Something more exciting.

“Oh really?”

“Really.” Jongin smirked at him and when he leaned down to hold him tighter, Kyungsoo wrapped his legs around the younger’s waist and before he knew it his lips have found Jongin’s and it just felt so natural when they started kissing each other so hotly, so intimately. Kyungsoo wrapped his hands around Jongin’s neck as the younger one started leading them towards the bedroom, as the kisses got hotter and longer, deeper.

As Jongin laid him down on his back on the bed, as the younger’s lips moved from his lips to his jawline and neck, as he felt himself panting heavily. And then, he just let out a laugh.

“Jongin, no,” Kyungsoo laughed and when the younger one looked at him confused, he used the chance to push himself up and sit on the bed. “Not here.”

“What?! Why?“

Kyungsoo looked down to Jongin’s clothes and to his own, all covered in red wine, and he laughed again, as he pulled Jongin’s face down for yet another kiss.

“Bathroom. Now.”

The younger one smirked down at him yet again, rolling his eyes – and Kyungsoo was just about to scold him for doing that but Jongin lifted him up again and he let out another laugh, as he pulled him down to press their lips together.

Kyungsoo loved him. So, so much. And seeing Jongin happy and excited, it meant just everything in the world to him.

Kyungsoo forgot to text Baekhyun that evening, of course. And when he woke up the next morning with Jongin’s hands still loosely wrapped around him to a bunch of angry text messages from his best friend, the only thing he could do was chuckle and snuggle even closer to his boyfriend.

Baekhyun could wait.

* * *

Kyungsoo really was excited for everything Baekhyun hadn’t stopped talking about in the past few days. He really wanted to start doing something, to organize everything, he just wanted to meet his friends. He missed them so much.

However, life wasn’t always as perfect as it had been until now. One morning, his boss called him and asked him to go to the office for some work.

Kyungsoo’s job as an architect didn’t require him to stay in the office all the time. He went there a couple of times a week to give his projects and get new ones, so he usually worked at home. He thought there was a problem with something he’d submitted, or maybe he had to change something.

What he hadn’t expected was his boss to tell him that three people have demanded his plans. He hadn’t expected to be given so many projects at once, with a deadline.

All his excitement evaporated right then and there, and got replaced by stress, because _how would he finish all of that_ in time? How would he help Baekhyun organize everything? How would anything work out?

And for the first time in forever, Baekhyun was understanding.

“It’s alright, Soo, I know you’re busy. I can take care of it, you just make sure you’ll be able to come there, alright?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world,” Kyungsoo sighed out in the phone. “Look, Baek, I really am sorry. If I finish earlier I’ll call you, I will try to help, OK?”

“Dude, chill,” he heard Baekhyun’s aery laugh. “It’s not like I can’t handle making a few calls. It’s fine.”

Jongin, too, seemed to understand, because in the following few days he didn’t bother Kyungsoo. He was coming home a bit earlier to prepare dinner for both of them in his cute, sloppy way, and Kyungsoo was grateful for his efforts.

He was spending most of his days in the work room, drawing and calculating and drawing and trying to be creative. Discussing details with customers, asking for preferences, then drawing again, calculating again and trying to get perfect results as soon as possible. But the time was flying and the progress was slow and Kyungsoo’s headache in the evening was getting stronger and stronger with every passing day.

“You need to rest, love.”

Kyungsoo straightened up immediately when he heard the voice.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” he sighed out, rubbing his palms on his face. He felt Jongin’s hand on his shoulder.

“Are you OK? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo tried to smile but it felt so unnatural, that he eventually gave up. “I just…I just want to get this done, but they have to change their fucking minds every day. Why are people like this?”

He heard Jongin’s ghostly chuckle, when the younger one pulled his chair backwards and got hold of his hands, pulling him up.

Kyungsoo blinked a few times, when Jongin leaned forward and pulled him closer, embracing him lightly, his hands running up and down Kyungsoo’s back in a soothing motion.

“Jongin…”

“Hm?”

“I-…I need to finish with this.”

“I know,” the younger one whispered quietly in Kyungsoo’s ear. “But you also need to relax a little bit. You’re too tense.”

“I’m tense because I have a deadline and no ideas. I-.. _ah._ ” Kyungsoo let out a sound of surprise when Jongin bit lightly on his earlobe. He sprawled his hands out on his boyfriend’s chest. “Not now, Jongin, I need to-“

He was cut off in the middle of his sentence when Jongin pushed him against the wall lightly, hands trapping him from both sides, chests pressed against each other. He was so close. So damn close, Kyungsoo could feel his hot breath on his skin.

“You need to what?” Jongin asked quietly, somehow tauntingly, and Kyungsoo knew then and there that going back to work was a lost cause now. Not when Jongin was being like this. Not when he was _seducing_ him.

“You’re trouble, you know that?” Kyungsoo breathed out and let his hands travel down Jongin’s arms. He saw the knowing smirk bloom on his boyfriend’s lips.

“You knew what you were getting yourself into four years ago, it’s too late to back off now,” Jongin pulled Kyungsoo’s leg up his side, urging him to come closer so that he could pick him up. Kyungsoo smiled lightly as he buried his face in Jongin’s neck, peppering it with kisses, as the younger one spun him around.

“Who said anything about backing off? If anything, I came to eventually like trouble.”

“Oh,” Jongin laughed, walking with him in his arms, using Kyungsoo’s leg to open the door to their bedroom. “Then you’re about to _love_ what’s coming up.”

Kyungsoo let out a surprised giggle when Jongin spun around again and then laid him down on the bed, his lips already on his neck, leaving hot kisses, that made the older one shiver.

This, for a change, was going to be a _fun_ night.

* * *

But Kyungsoo could only allow himself a few such nights. He had a lot of work to do and he was blaming the universe for playing such a joke on him. He couldn’t do anything to help with the preparations for their meeting.

Baekhyun, however, was keeping him updated on everything. Lay and Tao were going to join, Kris had spoken with them before Baekhyun had called to even ask. It’s like all of them had the same thought and with every passing day the holidays were coming closer and closer and Kyungsoo’s annoyance caused from the projects was slowly being replaced by excitement.

“Kyungsoo, we have a problem!” Baekhyun called him the night before their planned meeting and Kyungsoo tensed because _why was Baekhyun calling him in such an hour_?!

“What?” Kyungsoo heard his own voice – sleepy, hoarse. He looked to the side where Jongin lazily opened his eyes, giving him a weird look. Great, so he’d woken him up as well. Damn Baekhyun.

“Me and Channie forgot to pick up the cake!”

“WHAT?”

“Look, we were busy the entire day shopping and getting drinks, so it just slipped out of my mind alright? Besides, you wanted to do something, so there’s that. Can you get it tomorrow on your way here?”

Kyungsoo let out a sigh. Couldn’t have Baekhyun sent him a text message for something like that? Why did he have to wake them up in the middle of the night.

“Fine…Sure…Whatever.” Kyungsoo closed his eyes again, feeling sleep dawning upon him once again.

“Don’t forget, OK?”

“Don’t worry,” Kyungsoo muttered with a small smirk. “I’m not you.”

“Asshole. You know, I call you an asshole way too often. Take a hint _, asshole!_ ”

“I love you, Baek.” Kyungsoo shook his head lightly. “Goodnight now.”

Kyungsoo didn’t wait for a reply, he just tossed the phone back on the bedside table and when he lied back down on the pillow, Jongin was watching him with sleep filled eyes and a small smile.

“What’s the reason for such late night love confessions?”

“Do I need a reason?” Kyungsoo smiled, nuzzling his head in the younger’s shoulder.

“Uh, when they aren’t directed towards me, then yes.”

“Baekhyun and Chanyeol forgot to pick up the cake so we’ll do that tomorrow.”

“And that has anything to do with the confessions…how?”

“Sleep, love.” Kyungsoo embraced Jongin with eyes closed and a calm heart. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

And just like that, they both drifted back into sleep, anticipating the following day.

* * *

“Jongin, hurry up!” Kyungsoo was at the front door, waiting for the younger one.

“Just a second!” his voice flew from the bedroom and Kyungsoo only sighed out.

“What are you doing in there anyway?”

And just as Kyungsoo was about to step forward and put an end to this and pull Jongin out, forcefully even if he had to, the younger one stepped out with sprawled out hands and a wide grin on his face.

For a second, Kyungsoo froze. Because for a second, it seemed like this wasn’t the Jongin he’d known for ages now.

It seemed like it was the Jongin from four years ago. Jongin in college. The football team captain, whom Kyungsoo had fallen so hard for, before even knowing him properly. Before falling in love with him.

His hair was tousled and he had sneakers and jeans on, and on top of his shirt, he was wearing the old jersey. Without the paddings, of course, it was falling freely over his body. He looked so young. So happy.

Kyungsoo smiled.

“So? What do you think?”  Jongin grinned happily and Kyungsoo just let out a chuckle.

“I think that you’ve completely lost your mind,” the older one moved forward and caressed Jongin’s cheek, before tiptoeing to peck him on the lips quickly. “Good thing I love you.”

Jongin’s smile didn’t falter for even a second. He just put on his jacket and then they were out, heading to Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s apartment to meet their friends.

Finally.

* * *

“Was that all necessary?” Chanyeol snorted when he opened the door and took in Jongin’s look. “You forgot the helmet! And what about the captain armband and the eye black?”

“Shut it before I give you a black eye.”

“That was lame, Kai, even for you.” Baekhyun appeared out of nowhere, dragging two chairs towards their living room. “Did you bring the cake?”

“Here it is.” Kyungsoo chided from behind, picking up the football shaped cake, eyeing it carefully. “Please don’t tell me you made a football themed party, Baekhyun, I beg you. I really, really beg you.”

“Take a closer look at your boyfriend and then dare throw accusations at me, OK?”

“This, I had no say and take in it,” Kyungsoo side eyed Jongin, who pouted lightly.  “So?”

“It’s just the cake. I promise.”

Kyungsoo sighed out in relief as he handed the cake over to Chanyeol, proceeding to take off his jacket and shoes.

He heard as Jongin followed the two into their living room and he let out a little surprised sound.

And as he followed after, he understood him. Completely.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol had decorated their living room for the get-together. There was a big printed out banner on the wall, a group picture of all of them – young and happy, all grinning, arms around each other. A picture from their trip to the lake, Kyungsoo remembered.

And then there were pictures on the walls, everywhere, solo pictures, group pictures, subgroup pictures, idiotic and funny ones, beautiful and nice ones, even a few baby shots. And then there were the ones that looked like they were taken out of a magazine, so Kyungsoo assumed they were stolen from Tao’s personal collection of photos.

Kyungsoo almost didn’t pay attention to the table with all the food and snacks, he was too mesmerized by these pictures, by all the memories that hit him, as he started walking around and taking closer looks. He was in many of these pictures and he smiled at how young he looked there. He was missing from some group shots, so he assumed these pictures had been taken before he joined the team.

But they were all so nice, the idea for this…

“You didn’t tell me you were going to do this.” Kyungsoo turned to Baekhyun, who grinned. “It’s beautiful.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” the other one shrugged. “I’m glad you like it.”

“So when will the others arrive?”

“Anytime now,” Chanyeol said. “We called you a bit earlier just, you know, in case.”

Kyungsoo nodded and turned back to the wall with the pictures, tracing over some of them with his fingers. Everybody looked so young. This is how he remembered these boys. His heart was anxiously beating in his chest, waiting to hear the doorbell ringing.

“WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND THAT?!” Kyungsoo almost jumped in surprise when Jongin shrieked and stared at the wall with widened eyes. Kyungsoo, as well as the other two, moved in closer to look what he was talking about. And maybe that’s when Jongin realized he shouldn’t have probably screamed about it, because he sprawled his hands over said picture.

“Take it off!”

“How am I supposed to take it off when I don’t even know what you’re talking about?!” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Move it. What is it?”

“Oh you know perfectly fine what it is!”

“I honestly have no idea. There are so many embarrassing pictures of you on this wall, that it could be anything. It could be from when you fell in the mud right after the showers in year one. Or it could be from when you lost some bet and had to piggyback ride Kris for the entire day, remember? Or when-“

“Yeah, we got it,” Jongin sighed out, turning towards Kyungsoo, who was smiling up.

“Come on. What is it?” the older one said, placing a hand over Jongin’s, urging him to let go.

And eventually, Jongin did move his hand away, with a very displeased scowl on his face, and the picture started coming in view. And Kyungsoo tiptoes when Chanyeol let out a snort and obviously lost all interest, turning his back on them and sneakily taking a snack.

And eventually, Kyungsoo finally saw the picture, and he smiled.

It was Jongin. In high school. Wearing a white leotard with tunic thighs over it, a sack on his shoulder and a very wide grin on his face. There were mirrors on his side and ballet flats on the floor next to him.

“That’s…. _ugh, Jesus_ …that’s from high school. Back then I-…I used to train ballet and-… _goodness_ …It’s not really, um, not really a past I like talking about…”

“Is it because of the thighs? It must be because of the thighs…” Baekhyun grinned. “And where’s your tutu?”

“Shut up.” Jongin hissed, then turned back to Kyungsoo, who was running his hand over that old picture of his boyfriend with a small smile. “Look, I-…I didn’t want to tell you about that, because…I look stupid, OK? It’s not the first thing I tell people…Where did you take that from anyway, Baekhyun?”

“Taemin helped,” the older boy shrugged, obviously losing interest in the conversation as well. And Kyungsoo felt Jongin’s gaze on him again, so he finally turned back, just smiling. The younger one’s brows furrowed lightly.

“You don’t really look surprised.”

“Did you really think I didn’t know about this?” Kyungsoo couldn’t control the smirk. Or the chuckle, when Jongin’s expression became even more clueless. “We’ve been together for almost four years, Jongin, did you really think that I wouldn’t eventually find out?”

“I knew you would, I was just trying to delay it…” Jongin muttered, throwing a dirty look towards the picture. “Anyway, how-”

“Taemin helped.” Kyungsoo repeated Baekhyun’s words, leaning against the wall and watching Jongin’s face darken.

“Damn Taemin and his big mouth.” Jongin sighed out. “Well, whatever, I guess…the cat’s out of the bag now anyway, so…”

“I don’t see why you didn’t want me to know. You look cute here.”

“Exactly! I look _cute_.”

“And that’s bad, because…?”

“Because I’m not the cute one. I am, like…I don’t-…you’re the cute one! Not me!”

“That sounded more like an insult than a compliment,” Kyungsoo laughed, leaning in closer to Jongin. “Besides, do you want me to remind you just _how cute_ you were in the cat ears headband?”

He had the pleasure of seeing Jongin’s cheeks becoming a very pretty hint of pink, before he tiptoed again and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“I like it. No matter what you thought abou-“

His sentence was cut off in the middle with the ring of the doorbell.

Kyungsoo heard Baekhyun’s loud squeal before he even realized he was smiling. He watched as his best friend walked over to the door and opened it and then he was jumping forward, suffocating people in his embraces and because of him Kyungsoo couldn’t quite see who exactly it was that had arrived, but it didn’t matter anyway.

He was waiting for all of them anyway.

He felt himself moving forward just when Baekhyun released the first person.

“Jongdae!” Kyungsoo didn’t know he was moving forward until he was crushing Chen in his arms, feeling the other one embrace him just as tightly. “Where have you been, I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“You know, life. Me and Minseok moved, we were really busy these past few months.”

“You moved?” Jongin appeared from the side and Jongdae released Kyungsoo with a loud screech, throwing himself on the captain. Instead, a golden haired man approached Kyungsoo and he had to do a double take before-

“Minseok?! What-…Oh God, you look so good!”

“I know, right?” Jongdae laughed from the side, ruffling the other’s hair. “I’ve been convincing him to try this for years now.”

“How are you, Soo?” Xiumin shook hands with him rather firmly and Kyungsoo was so glad he was seeing them. He replied curtly that everything was fine, that he was busy, and so a conversation started and Baekhyun and CHanyeol joined in and that went on for about roughly one minute because after that the doorbell rang again and this time, when Baekhyun opened the door, he didn’t have the time to jump on the people in front of himself. Why?

Because Oh Sehun would have never allowed that. He chicly walked inside of the room, holding Luhan’s hand firmly, gracing everybody with a half-smile.

“Hey, there. Long time no see.”

Kyungsoo didn’t jump this time around, because he’d seen those two less than a week ago, but obviously Chen and Xiumin hadn’t seen them in a while because they seemed just ecstatic about it.

“I’ll go get ice for the drinks, OK?” Baekhyun infored Kyungsoo, before he disappeared into their apartment and the shorter one nodded briefly, watching back towards the little group of people. He grinned when Jongdae finally walked in and saw the picture-wall and let out the shriek of his life, grabbing Luhan by the hand and dragging him forward. Minseok and Sehun eventually followed and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile and lean on Jongin’s shoulder.

“I love this.” He said hushedly, when the other four started discussing all the pictures they’d been looking at only a few minutes ago. “Where did Chanyeol go?”

“I don’t know.” Jongin looked around. “He was here just now…”

“Hey, guys!” Chanyeol appeared out of the kitchen, putting on a jacket. “Lay and Tao called. Apparently they got lost, so I’ll go pick them up. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

“That’s Lay we’re talking about. I’m not surprised,” Jongin smiled wistfully. “Do you need help, man?”

“What? Driving a car? I think I’ll manage.” Chanyeol measured him with a look and Jongin snapped at him and Kyungsoo fondly laughed because this is it, this is what he’d missed for so long.

“So we’re only waiting for Suho and Kris now, right?” Sehun asked, already sitting on the couch comfortably. His face was trouble when he looked towards Jongin. “Nice picture, by the way.”

Kyungsoo laughed when Jongin attacked Sehun and when Jongdae asked what picture they were talking about. And when he found it he immediately started screaming and _damn_ , hadn’t Kyungsoo forgotten how _loud_ he was.

And he was sitting there, talking with Minseok and Luhan a lot, occasionally looking towards Jongdae who was trying to hug Sehun, who was complaining to Jongin. Baekhyun returned with the ice bowl and left it on the table, joining in on both conversations somehow. It was great.

And not much later the doorbell rang again and Kyungsoo’s feelings couldn’t be described when he saw Kris entering, dark hair and a pretty wide smile, which was impressive for him. And behind him, the tiny Suho emerged in the room and before Kyungsoo knew it he was practically prancing forward, catching the former coach assistant tightly in his embrace, not letting go.

“Oh, God, you’re rushing me!” Suho laughed and Kyungsoo laughed too, eventually letting go, holding on to his shoulders, taking a good look at his face. Suho hadn’t change. He seemed just as young as ever. Yet another reason to pull him forward in a hug again. He felt his arms circling him as well. “I missed you, Soo!”

“It’s been so long,” Kyungsoo muttered, as he finally let go, this time surely. He was on the verge of letting his eyes become watery, but he held himself together, smiling instead. “How have you been? I-…there’s so much stuff to talk about I don’t even know where to start!”

“We have time,” Suho smiled gently and finally, he pulled back a bit and Kyungsoo finally, _finally_ , noticed what he was wearing. And he laughed.

“Oh God, not another one.” He muttered just when he heard Jongin’s excited giggle, when the captain rushed forward to meet Suho, the only other over-enthusiastic person who had put on the jersey.

“I told him not to do it,” Kris muttered when Jongdae let go of him, and he seemed so exasperated that Kyungsoo smirked. “It’s so embarrassing…”

“I feel you.”

Kris looked down and smiled, patting Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

Baekhyun was crying when Suho let go of him, making up excuses and rushing everybody into the living room. Kyungsoo watched in fascination as Suho, as well as Kris started inspecting the walls and started laughing at this one picture of Suho with a cap and a folder in his arms. Typical Suho from back then.

And Kyungsoo just felt like his heart would burst when he heard unlocking sounds over all the mess, when he eventually turned his head to the door just when he heard Chanyeol’s deep voice announcing that they were here and that meant that Tao and Lay were here.

Before he could even move, Jongin had stormed past him and seconds later he heard a muffled laughter, something akin to crying and when he peeked through the door, Jongin was hugging Lay so tightly, and vice versa. Tao chicly greeted Kyungsoo and completely lost his shit when Kris and Sehun appeared behind him. He was a crying mess in less than a minute, when his once best friends approached him and engulfed him in hugs.

And Kyungsoo?

Kyungsoo could just stand in his place for a few seconds, admiring this. All of his friends from back then, in the same place, all of them smiling, hugging each other and fooling around. Some were trying to hide the tears from happiness.

It’s almost as if nothing had changed.

And that’s all the thinking Kyungsoo did, before he smiled widely and joined the mess in the hall, not caring who he was greeting and hugging, because it didn’t matter. He had missed them all.

So, so much.

* * *

“I miss the times we spent in SM.” Minseok sighed out at some point of the night after hours and hours of talking, of questions, of laughter and stories. “We all used to be so carefree back then. All we cared about was football and getting some. Occasionally about studying, too…”

There were a few chuckles from around the room.

“I beg to differ,” Baekhyun sipped from his drink. “I think the only thing Kyungsoo was thinking about was studying. And getting in Kai’s pants. God, he was so dramatic sometimes, I still cringe when I think about it…”

“What do you mean?” Tao asked and Jongin watched Baekhyun’s smirk grow wider, as he nudged Kyungsoo.

“Remember when you started comparing you two to Romeo and Juliet?”

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo laughed and Jongin could only raise his eyebrows and look towards his boyfriend, wondering when that had happened and for what reasons.

“Well, he succeeded in getting him anyway, breaking tons of hearts I’m sure…” Jongdae chided from the side and Jongin watched as his boyfriend’s wide grin turned into a smaller smile. He didn’t say anything, he just looked genuinely happy tonight. His eyes were sparkling when he was speaking and his lips were pulled back in a smile revealing his teeth.

“We should go there, you know? Back to the stadium.” Suho said from the couch, all eleven pairs of eyes turning towards him, causing him to shrug lightly, kind of shyly. “I mean…if there’s one thing that brought us all together in the first place it’s that, so I think we should go.”

“I’d love to go, but-“ Chanyeol took a look at his wristwatch. “Nobody will let us in at this time. It’s almost midnight…”

“Actually, someone can let us in.” Kyungsoo interfered, straightening up lightly, flashing a look towards Jongin.

This was totally against the rules. He was given all the keys as the assistant coach but he was only allowed to use them on training days. He wasn’t authorized to enter the college grounds otherwise. He wasn’t a student, he wasn’t a professor.

But he was Kim Jongin. He was Kai, so when Kyungsoo squeezed his hand lightly, he decided it was worth it.

He fished the keys out of his pocket swiftly, raising them up so everyone could see them dangling on the keychain.

“Ready to do some laps, guys?”

* * *

After countless warnings towards everybody to stay quiet, until at least they got to the stadium itself, and after countless remarks that sneaking in like that only seemed more suspicious if anything, they eventually reached the outer gates of the stadium and Jongin sighed out, picking up the keys.

“There goes nothing,” he laughed, pushing the gate open, motioning for the guys to follow him.

He had been here quite often in the past year, but the other haven’t. It’s not like much had changed since they graduated anyway. It was the same old plain building, with countless corridors, leading to the bleachers, to the control rooms, to the commenter booths, bathrooms and finally, the straight hallway leading to the stadium itself.

“Come on.” Suho grinned and was the first one to step forward, leading everybody else forward.

And they were meters away from the field itself and there was this new feeling tingling in Jongin’s chest. He was on the field again with _his_ friends, with _his_ team. Not with the kids he was coaching. And it felt like home.

“Wait!” Chanyeol stopped them all and Jongin tuned around to see the giant standing in front of another corridor, smaller. He was grinning. “Let’s do this properly. We never went straight to the stadium, did we?”

“Not everybody fucked in the bathrooms, Chanyeol, come on! We don’t have time for you being nasty.” Jongdae rolled his eyes and earned himself a smack.

“I meant the changing rooms, you moron!”

“What are you going to do there anyway?”

“I want to see if the things we wrote on the walls and lockers back then are still there? Or did they change something over there?”

Chanyeol didn’t even wait, he started walking down the hallway and Lay followed after and obviously it was decided when the others started going after him and Jongin was left with no choice but to follow.

He actually hadn’t been in the locker rooms. What’d he do in there? And now, as Chanyeol actually mentioned it, he realized that most of their memories were actually also connected to this place. All the times they’d fool around, when they’d decide what to do after the hours of training. It was all in there, so instead of complaining, Jongin smirked and hurried forward with the keys.

He unlocked the doors and cautiously walked in. It didn’t seem like anything had changed in here either. The red lockers were the same as always – covered in doodles, in stupid words, scratched names, dirty. There were jerseys thrown on some of the bleachers, sneakers lying around. There was a stack of helmets in the corner, that Lay approached. There was steam in the air, so Jongin assumed some of the football players had been here earlier.

“Something…smells horrible in here,” Tao wrinkled his nose.

“What?” Baekhyun looked at him with a smirk. “In a boys’ locker room? Nah…”

“I don’t remember it smelling that badly when it was us.” Tao winced again, taking a quick look around. “I’ll go wait in front. God, that’s disgusting.”

Jongin heard Kyungsoo’s laughter and approached him, hands sliding around his waist.

“This is where I kissed you for the first time.”

“You kissed me at Chen’s party for the first time.” Kyungsoo corrected, eyebrows raised. Jongin rolled his eyes.

“Yeah but I mean, like…first actual kiss.”

“Let’s get out of here, guys, before those two get even cheesier. And before my smell sensors die, please?” Luhan tilted his head to the side. “It really smells horrible in here, what are these kids doing nowadays?!”

And Jongin could only smile and nod, because really he just wanted to see the tiny place. Chanyeol, however, was excitedly jumping because he found something he’d written on the walls about five years ago, among all the other scribbles and doodles that have gathered around after that.

Jongin was eesctatic when all the guys eventually got to the field itself. It was empty, just a few dummies pushed to the sides. It was empty, dark.

But it meant a lot to all of them, so they spent another two hours just fooling around, reminding each other to shut up after someone would let out a loud shout. It was fun, they reminisced about their old games, about funny episodes from trainings, about tryouts, formations, uniforms. Even about the fund raising car wash.

And they were just standing there, some sitting on the grass, other on the first row of bleachers, and all of them, all 12 of them were happy.

“We should totally meet again while we’re still here,” Lay sighed out, draping an arm over Jongin’s shoulders.

He didn’t even have to say it, it was a given. As long as the others had time, they’d do this. Jongin wouldn’t let them leave without seeing them again.

“Actually,” he started. “There’s a game tomorrow. The kids will be playing, and you could all come. See the coach, and we can go get a drink or something after that, if you want.”

“That’s…that’s actually great.” Suho jumped on his feet, dragging out a phone from his pocket. “Tomorrow, tomorrow…tomorrow’s fine. It’s perfect. I’m down.”

“Me too! I’m not missing that!” Baekhyun leaned back and not even seconds later the others started chiding in ‘Me too!’-s.

And Jongin just smiled in content, leaning over to Kyungsoo, who seemed a bit tense for a second.

Jongin knew, he still had work to do, he still had these projects to finish, but when Kyungsoo relaxed and rested his head on his shoulders, he knew what had happened. The older had probably just went all ‘fuck it’.

And somehow, Jongin was glad. He knew Kyungsoo had been waiting for this for so long, he knew he wanted this. Sure, it would mean working his ass off later, but it was worth it.

“OK, but guys-“ Minseok got interrupted by his own yawn. “It’s kind of…getting late, don’t you think?”

“You truly have become an old man, Kim Minseok.” Baekhyun laughed. “But you’re right. We have work in the morning, Yeol…we should go…”

And so, one after another, they all started declaring how tired they were, and Jongin only blinked quickly when Lay bore his eyes in him and smiled. Suddenly, he wasn’t feeling all that calm.

And everyone was standing up, arranging their meeting at the sidelines tomorrow, saying their goodbyes and Jongin gladly noticed they spared themselves the hugs and kisses this time around. They just said curt goodbyes and started leaving in pairs, some of them throwing little looks towards him.

Suddenly, even though the evening was nice, he felt sick.

“See you tomorrow!”

* * *

“Let’s stay a bit longer, Soo?” Jongin asked and Kyugnsoo turned back towards him, while Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Lay and Tao started moving away.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re going to make me run laps around the field, captain.” Kyungsoo smiled and approached Jongin again, towards the center of the wide field.

He knew just how much this place mattered to him, especially today, after finally meeting everybody from his team. He wanted to share that happiness with him.

“I don’t play favorites, but you’re my favorite, so no.” Jongin smiled when Kyungsoo snuggled closer to him.

He enjoyed this, just the two of them together in the middle of this huge terrain, filled with memories.

“You really love this…” Kyungsoo muttered, more to himself, but Jongin embraced him and the shorter one buried his face in his chest.

“I’m so glad I made the right decision back then.” He heard the younger one saying. “I love you, Kyungsoo, so much. More than anything else.”

“What’s the reason for such late night confessions?” Kyungsoo mocked, repeating Jongin’s words from last night, but when the younger one pushed him slightly away, hands resting on his shoulders, Kyunsoo looked up to him kind of intrigued.

“Today it’s exactly four years since you and me stood here, on this same spot, for the first time together, you know?”

“What?” Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows, shocked for a second that he might have forgotten their anniversary. However, he was pretty sure it wasn’t anywhere near yet, so he looked up with narrowed eyes, waiting for an explanation.

“The tryouts. That’s when all this…started. Us.” Jongin looked dazed, he looked so confused, pursing his lips and blinking way too quickly. Kyungsoo reached out to touch him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” Jongin quickly said, looking down with widened eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, I just…I don’t know how-…Baekhyun said you compared us to Romeo and Juliet?”

Kyungsoo winced at the sudden change of subject and let out a hearty chuckle.

“It was when we started dating. I was so scared because I was falling so hard for you. I loved you.” The older one shrugged. “And I was afraid it was happening too fast.”

He watched as a fond smile graced Jongin’s lips, as the younger one let out a sigh and grabbed his hands. It was warm.

“You’ve known me for so long and you know it’s so hard for me to express myself with words. I’m definitely no Shakespeare, but my guess is Romeo wasn’t much of a quarterback either, right?”

“Jongin?”

“I’m just trying to…what I’m trying to say is, I just-…I just love you so much, shrimpy. You just stormed your way into my life and turned everything upside down and I’ve never appreciated anything else more. I’d choose you over anything, always. So let’s…let’s do this properly.”

Kyungsoo didn’t know what was going on, when Jongin let go of his hands, when he stepped back a little and pulled out a little black box out. And suddenly, something in Kyungsoo’s brain clicked and his eyes widened in realization.

He felt as if someone had kicked him in the chest, the air around him wasn’t enough, and all he could do was blink and try to get his senses back.

He had never, not even in his wildest dreams, imagined Jongin would do something like this tonight of all nights. Not today, today had been all about meeting everyone else.

“Oh my God,” Kyungsoo barely whispered when the younger one sunk on one knee on the grass of the field right in front of him raising the little box without a trace of all that hesitation that had been there not even a minute ago.

“I’m so lucky you showed up on this field exactly four years ago, Kyungsoo, I’m so lucky you became such a huge part of me. And I would be more than lucky to spend rest of my life together with you, so…will you marry me?”

Kyungsoo’s whole little world was spinning around him, as he tried to get his voice back. As he kept on staring at Jongin, who was kneeling in front of him with the simple, nice ring in the box displayed in front of him, and with the greatest question he could have ever asked him. Kyungsoo felt dizzy.

But this. This was something that definitely caught him by surprise and his whole being was shaking with excitement, because _oh goodness_ he loved Jongin so much. And this, this meant just everything in the world to him, this moment.

He couldn’t find his voice for another half a minute. He just stared with an open mouth and widened eyes and he made his choice. He nodded. And then he nodded again, before feeling a smile slowly, but surely, creeping on his face.

“Yes,” he croaked out, nodding again. “Yes!”

“Yes?” Jongin pushed himself up, his own face blossoming with a smile.

“Yes! A thousand times, yes.” Kyungsoo felt his eyes watering lightly, when Jongin caught his palm and slipped the simple ring band around his finger and it fit perfectly and Kyungsoo knew then he’d made the right decision. Him and Jongin, they simply belonged together. He didn’t stare at the ring for too long, he threw his hands around Jongin’s neck and kissed him.

A hot, excited kiss, nothing like ever before. A kiss filled with so much emotions.

“I love you, Jongin!” Kyungsoo uttered in between kisses, when Jongin embraced him and spun him around in the middle of the stadium. “So much. I love you so much.”

And so, just like that, a day he had thought he’d never ever forget turned into a whole new experience, into a rollercoaster of emotions for him, and for that, Kyungsoo could never have been happier.

This. This was everything.

* * *

The morning had felt kind of surreal and only one look towards his hand and the ring on his finger had him smiling crazily, nuzzling his face back into Jongin’s shoulder.

They spent the day together, not leaving their home. Kyungsoo called in to say he will postpone one of the projects, so that he could spend more time with Jongin. With his _fiancé_. It sounded weird, but that was definitely something Kyungsoo would get used to. Something, that was making his heart do backflips in his chest, something bringing him a whole new sort of excitement.

And he realized then that that’s what the ring on his finger meant – a promise for a life filled with this excitement. And Kyungsoo was in love with the idea of that. Of being with Jongin forever. It sounded just perfect.

And then it became a bit later and Jongin reminded with a smile that he had to go to the game and they had to meet the other guys there and Kyungsoo jumped up in excitement, ready to tell Baekhyun and everyone else about this new thing. He was so excited to share the news. This was all great.

But when him and Jongin walked into the stadium and the field, hand in hand, with grins on their faces, and approached the sidelines where the rest of the guys were standing, waiting for the coach and the team to appear, Kyungsoo noticed something. All of them were smiling at them, grinning. Tao was excitedly fidgeting in his seat.

“So we take it, you said yes, Kyungsoo?” Minseok asked as soon as they got closer and Kyungsoo felt his jaw dropping, his eyes narrowing to take a look at every single face in front of him. Most of them grinning, some trying to hide their smiles, but all waiting for a reply.

“What? You knew about this?” His eyes widened again when they all nodded. “All of you?!”

“Of course we did,” Baekhyun smiled fondly at him and Kyungsoo looked at his best friend. “Believe it or not, Jongin’s been in the process of growing some balls for about one year now. We all helped him out a bit, somehow.”

“What-“

“It’s true.” Luhan smiled and Kyungsoo felt dizzy all over again, as he turned around in Jongin’s hands and looked up to him.

“One year?!”

“Well, that’s a bit-“

“You’ve been planning this for one year?! So you-…so that’s why…Is that why Suho and Kris said they’re coming to Korea?! Why Baekhyun called me and-” Kyungsoo simply saw Jongin pull his lips back into a smile, before he turned back to all the guys, who were also smiling. He raised his eyebrows. “ _Oh God_ …I need to sit down.”

Kyungsoo did actually sit down on the bleacher, letting Jongin squat in front of him and hold his hands together as he tried collecting his thoughts. He absentmindedly noticed all the guys surrounding them.

“I just-...I just can’t believe you really have been wanting this for so long.” Kyungsoo uttered at last and Jongin’s smile was precious when he flashed it at him.

“I have been wanting you always.”

“Doe this mean I got these additional projects from work so that you could plan this out-“

“Nope. That was just fate being on my side.” Jongin laughed. “I guess this was meant to happen.”

“ _God_ …” Kyungsoo was somewhere on that line between laughing crazily and crying. He reached out to pull Jongin down. “You have no clue just how great you are, Kim Jongin.”

“Give us some credit, will you?” Baekhyun chided from the side and suddenly Kyungsoo remembered they weren’t alone, but on a field, about to watch a football game.

“Yeah, some of us even flew all the way from China for this, you know?” Tao added and Kyungsoo finally lost it – he started laughing and stood up, trying not to let the tears from happiness escape.

“Thank you, guys! So much! This means so much to me.”

Baekhyun dragged Kyungsoo forward and hugged him.

“Congratulations, Soo.”

And suddenly, just like yesterday, he was hugging everybody, hearing them all congratulating him, and when he looked towards Jongin he was pretty much in the same situation. And their eyes met, so they simply smiled at each other.

And then the team started arriving, younger guys in football attire, in broad shoulder pads and helmets in hands, wondering just who was sitting on their designated places.

“Coach?” one of the guys in front said and when Lay let go of Kyungsoo, he saw the captain armband on his hand. “What’s going on?”

It was kind of weird to see people referring to Jongin as coach, but it’s fine. It suited him.

“I hope you don’t mind I brought over a few more extra assistant coaches, do you?”

“A few?” the boy raised an eyebrow and Kyungsoo laughed, along with some other guys from his own old team.

“You’re the team of the coach, right?” some other boy from behind asked and Kyungsoo wasn’t sure who answered, but they confirmed it and there were suddenly mutters and excited chatter among the football players.

“So that means…D.O. is here? And Xiumin? And Chen? And-“

“Yeah,” Jongin interrupted. “All of them.”

“Man, you’re legends!”

And Kyungsoo laughed. He laughed when his old teammates started discussing the old games with these younger boys, giving them advice.

He laughed, when he looked around and realized how much they’ve all grown.

And how, at the same time, they were the same.

“You OK?” Jongin appeared beside him in the midst of this mess and Kyungsoo smiled, before he nodded.

“Yeah, just-…kind of overwhelmed, really.”

Jongin placed a hand on his neck, pulling him towards him lightly. And Kyungsoo thought he’d kiss him, but just when he started feeling Jongin’s breath on his skin, just seconds before their lips met, the younger one spoke.

“Well you better man up, because we have a game to play.”

“Asshole,” Kyungsoo smiled and pulled Jongin down instead to press their lips together. He held him tightly, without caring that a bunch of boys were watching them. Or that a bunch of morons (Baekhyun and Chanyeol) started cheering. Some things just never changed. “You’re all mine. I love you.”

Jongin smiled and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose, making Kyungsoo smile, before he turned back to the rest of the people. The kids avoiding their direction, probably embarrassed. Their friends were grinning up to them.

“Well?” Kyungsoo laughed, pulling Jongin forward. “Come on! We have a game to win!”

* * *

* * *

* * *

Well, that's a wrap, I guess~

I'm sorry for making you all wait so long for this epilogue, I have no excuse really...But I hope you enjoyed it and I hope while reading this enire story you were able to relax and just have some fun! ^^

So thank you all for sticking with me and this story until this point, I really appreciate all the support it got, THANK YOU!

The rest of my stories you can find  [here](http://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view_author_stories/782112/L)~

P.S. I was able to win the bidding only a few days ago, so for that, as well, thank yu! Were it not for you, I woulnd't have been able to ^^


	24. Epilogue 2.0: The Happily Every After

** Two years later **

He blew the strand of hair falling over his eyes, before dropping down on the chair and taking a look at all the plans on his desk.

He was tired. So tired. Exhausted.

The last few days, weeks, months even, had been filled with work. Projects coming in from different customers, and his head was bursting from all the different designs he was working on at the same time.

The clients making last minute decisions and changing their mind every few days didn’t help lessen the headaches that came with going to sleep at 3am on a daily basis.

Today was no different.

Yet another correction had to be made on the plans that he had to submit in less than 4 hours.

“There you go,” he heard a quiet voice and shuffling of feet against the floor in the absolute silence of the night. He couldn’t stop the content spreading in his chest as he looked up and saw Jongin walking in with two bowls in hands. “Your favourite.”

“I told you to stop buying that stuff. It’s not good for us.”Kyungsoo mumbled, taking the bowl Jongin was handing him and throwing a quick glance at the instant ramen. Jongin had thrown a piece of square cheese on top and had been some weak attempt to cook an egg in the water. It had ended up being scrambled among the noodles.

Kyungsoo felt the warmth spreading from his fingertips to the very core of his being.

“Do you want me to go make you something else then?”

“Do we even _have_ anything else?”

Jongin just raised his eyebrows and shrugged, walking around the desk to where Kyungsoo was sitting and looking down towards the plans.

Kyungsoo leaned back in his chair and started slurping on the noodles, paying more attention to Jongin and his sharp jawline from this angle, to his eyes scanning the plans on his desk but looking somewhat empty. To him holding the bowl with noodles and not eating. He was pursing his lips.

Kyungsoo could only squint his eyes and lean forward the tiniest bit. He knew that look on his husband’s face.

He was thinking about something.

He was thinking about something and he was thinking about it hard.

“What? What is it?”

“Hm?” Jongin seemed startled, as he turned away from the plans and focused his gaze on him. He smiled – a smile so beautiful, a smile so lovely and gentle – a smile Kyungsoo would never ever grow tired of seeing. “Nothing. Just thinking about our house.”

“Mm,” Kyungsoo hummed around another mouthful of ramen. “What about it?”

Jongin set down his bowl of noodles (still untouched) on the side of the desk and Kyungsoo felt his eyebrow twitching.

_Okay_. Jongin wasn’t eating and there was still this very concentrated look in his eyes. Something was off.

“Well, you know how the construction is almost done, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Kyungsoo mused. “I manage and lead the construction.”

“Yeah, and you know how we designed it to be this beautiful, big house. Garden. All these rooms.”

“…yeah, so?”

“Well I’ve been thinking lately...” Jongin stopped for a moment to aimlessly flail his hands around, as if trying to gather his vocabulary. “I’ve been thinking about expanding.”

“ _What?_ ” Kyungsoo didn’t mean for his voice to suddenly sound that cold and harsh, and he also didn’t mean to glare his husband down, but he also couldn’t quite help it. This was absurd. “ _Expanding?_ Jongin, that’s impossible. The construction is almost over, expanding would mean changing everything, it would mean tearing down walls that have already been built, expanding is-…it’s out of the question, alright? It would mean-“

“Woah, woah, _woah_! Hold up. I didn’t mean the _house_.”

_Oh._

“Oh,” Kyungsoo looked up, the fire within him dying out. “Good. What then?”

“Us.”

“Us?” Kyunsgoo raised his eyebrows, before letting out a puff at the hopeful look in Jongin’s eyes. “Jongin…Jongin, you know perfectly well how I feel about threesomes, we’ve talked about it. But after what happened with Baekhyun I just don’t-“

“Hey! We agreed to never talk about that.” Jongin interrupted, before shaking his head and sitting down on the armrest of Kyungsoo’s chair. “Besides, that’s not what I meant, Soo…”

Kyungsoo threw a suspicious look at his husband, before leaving his mostly empty bowl on the desk as well. Jongin’s hands immediately found their way to his.

“I mentioned the house because I’ve been watching the construction progress. How it started out with an empty lot of space, how it grew with every passing day and now it’s this beautiful building, waiting for us. Our home. And I’ve just been thinking, wouldn’t it be a pity if it was only the two of us living there?”

Jongin withdrew one of his hands to fumble with his pocket and pull out a little carton. It was slightly crumpled at the edges, as if he had been pulling it out a lot lately.

He seemed hesitant, before reaching his hand out and handing it to Kyungsoo.

It was a photograph. A still of a little baby with slightly glassy eyes and tiny hands wrapped around an adult’s finger. An adult’s finger that suspiciously looked like Jongin’s – at least judging by the chipped nail and the unique skin color. Kyungsoo would know his husband’s hands anywhere.

But it wasn’t Jongin’s finger that made his breath hitch in his throat, it was the little button-like nose and the big, big eyes of the baby, its chubby cheeks and the little smile revealing toothless gums.

He blinked quickly, as he looked up. His husband was staring at him quietly, expectantly, with a little, dazed smile on his plush lips.

“Her name is Soyeon.” Jongin said quietly, yet his words sounded loud and clear in the absolute silence. “She is barely four months. I saw her for the first time when I went to the orphanage with Chanyeol for the first time a month ago.”

“Jongin-“

“The moment I saw her and her big eyes she reminded me of you and I just-…I fell in love with her. I couldn’t stop myself from returning there and just-…I just-…” Jongin took in a breath, before nodding once. Maybe to himself. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing it would be to have her. Me and you, to have her and raise her-“

“Jongin-“

“To have a child, you know? To move into that big house together, to raise our kid there, to watch it grow and run around in the garden and maybe we could also have a pool once it grows.” Jongin was rambling at this point, and Kyungsoo felt the warmth from earlier spreading within him yet again. Ten times stronger than before. He must have given this a lot of thought. “And every Christmas we’ll decorate together. I’ll dress up as Santa and you’ll make those homemade chocolate chip cookies. And our kid would be opening presents until the sundown and we’ll be happy and then in summer we will-“

“Jongin!” Kyungsoo raised his voice to stop his husband from ranting on. He squeezed his hand into his own, pulling him closer. Their lips brushed lightly under the dim light of the desk lamp, salty and cheesy and lazily moving together in the early hours of the morning.

It was a brief kiss. A kiss meant to shut Jongin up.

A kiss meant to calm him down so Kyungsoo could smile once they parted.

“I love her.” He said quietly, forehead resting against Jongin’s. He could feel the way Jognin’s fingers tightened around his excitedly. He saw his smile growing and his own heart skipped a beat.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Jongin leaned down again to kiss him one more time – this kiss was excited and it was harder. Kyungsoo smiled in the kiss. He felt Jongin’s lips stretching in a smile as well, never leaving his though. There was a quiet chuckle and he wasn’t quite sure whether it was his or Jongin’s.

He supposed it didn’t matter much, not when the fingers of one of his hand were holding Jongin’s hair and the fingers of his other hand were securely wrapped around the photograph of the little baby girl.

Soyeon.

“I love you.” Jongin mumbled quietly and Kyungsoo bit on his lower lip to stop the smile from becoming too big.

“I love you more.”

“That’s debatable.” Jongin said one last time before connecting their lips together and pushing Kyungsoo down into the chair, the silence of the night filled with quiet chuckles and quiet mumbles and all the love in Kyungsoo’s heart threatening to burst.

* * *

Kyungsoo’s heart was doing strange leaps in his chest at the sight in front of him.

Jongin was standing there, holding the tiny baby close to his chest, cooing and making weird faces and Kyungsoo wanted to laugh, but all he could do was smile lovingly as his heart kept expanding by the second. The love he had for this man…

“There,” Jongin said and interrupted Kyungsoo’s staring by raising his hands and displaying the baby in front of him. “You hold her.”

“Jongin, wait! I’m not-…I mean, I can’t-“

“Come on.”

Kyungsoo was startled and mostly scared when he found himself taking the baby from Jongin’s hands.

She was so tiny. So light and small and she fit so perfectly in his hands and-

_Oh God._

She was looking at him.

With those large, pretty eyes, she was staring at him and her chubby cheeks were puffed and Kyungsoo felt his heart leaping in his chest yet again.

An entirely new feeling of warmth spread in his chest, as he looked down at the little girl and she pulled her little mouth into a laugh.

Soyeon.

He felt a hand sliding from his shoulder down to his waist.

Jongin pulled him close, standing beside him and looking down at the little baby wrapped in a blanket in his hands.

Soyeon.

His Soyeon.

_Their_ Soyeon.

 

** 2 **

Two years had passed just like that, in the blink of an eye.

Two years with the longest days and nights in Kyungsoo’s life had just flown by.

It seemed like all these nights when him and Jongin would take turns changing diapers and singing lullabies had just been yesterday.

It seemed like all these crazy days of Kyungsoo and Jognin collectively freaking out because the clothes they’d just bought their little angel a week and a half ago wouldn’t fit anymore had happened moments ago.

He wished he could make time stop for a while.

The little baby in his hands was still very much his little baby, but it was walking and running around on its own. It was pointing at stuff and trying to talk, it was eating mostly by itself and just growing and Kyungsoo just wished time would stop.

His baby girl was growing too fast.

Or maybe it was him at the age of twenty-eight starting to feel old. Time was passing too quickly. 

He was sitting on the couch in that late afternoon, a very calm toddler in his lap playing with her dolls, and he was playing with her hair.

Trying to tie the little strands of pitch black hair into two tiny ponytails proved to be a task harder than designing a whole building.

The distinctive sound of a door unlocking, though, had both him and the toddler looking up in excitement and there went Kyungsoo’s efforts to tie the second ponytail because as soon as the baby girl heard the door opening, she jumped out of his lap and with her little feet excitedly rushed across the living room just in time to collide with a JOngin who appeared at the hallway.

Jongin coming from work was always tired – the black circles under his eyes were more noticeable than they were in the morning and the little tick of his eyebrow whenever he sighed out in exhaustion was something Kyungsoo had grown used to seeing in the last years, especially after the workload that came with Jongin’s promotion.

However, he had also grown used to seeing all that exhaustion evaporate as soon as Jongin’s eyes landed on their little baby girl.

He had grown used to seeing Jongin throw the briefcase aside as all work was forgotten and all that existed in his world was the tiny toddler waving her hands up, waiting to be picked up.

“My princess,” Jongin exclaimed as soon as he saw the toddler by his side, immediately crouching down to pick her up and spin her around once, twice. The living room was suddenly filled with excited giggles, both Soyeon and Jongin’s.

It was when Jongin stopped and actually threw Soyeon in the air before catching her swiftly when Kyungsoo’s heart skipped a beat, just like every other time Jongin did that, and he thought it was about time to interfere. He stood up from the couch and Jongin finally looked towards him too, holding their squirming toddler against his chest tightly.

“That’s a nice hairstyle.” Jongin nodded towards the baby in his hands and the hairband that was already sliding off the one ponytail at the side of their baby girl’s head. She looked ridiculously cute and all Kyungsoo could do was scoff as he walked closer and raised himself up a little to briefly press his lips against Jongin’s. His husband smiled and the toddler in his arms clapped and laughed giddily.

Kyungsoo turned towards her for a moment, a finger flying up to carress her still chubby cheeks.

“How was work?”

“Tiring. As always,”Jongin said and Kyungsoo felt those plush lips pressing against his temple for a moment, before turning his attention from Soyeon back to Jongin and the way he was looking at him with those chocolate eyes filled with all the love in the world and the most beautiful of all smiles stretching his lips. “But I’m at home now.”

After all these years, it still felt like they were still standing in the middle of a football field and Kyungsoo still felt the same butterflies in his stomach every time Jongin looked at him. He loved him so much.

He ran a hand from Jongin’s hair down to his cheek.

“What do you want me to make for dinner?”

“Can’t we just order pizza?”

Kyungsoo scoffed again.

“Not when there’s perfectly edible food in the house, we can’t. Besides, you’re starting to put on some weight from all that junk food you keep eating in secret.”

Jongin let out a fake gasp, as he cuddled the toddler closer to his chest.

“Did you hear that, princess?” he turned towards the baby. “Daddy just called me fat.”

“I did not call you fat.”

“Did so!” Jongin argued, resting his forehead against Soyeon’s and eliciting yet another giggle. “Do you agree, Soyeonnie? Is daddy getting fat?”

That was met with another fit of giggles and Soyeon throwing her hands in an attempt to hug Jongin, her tiny arms barely reaching from one shoulder to another. She hid her tiny face in the crook of Jongin’s neck, as he let out another fake gasp and tried to crane his neck to look down at her.

“You do think so, don’t you?”

Kyungsoo bit down on his lower lip to contain the smile yet again, as he saw Jongin spinning around with their baby girl in his hands again. As he saw him setting her down on the couch and attacking her with tickles and Soyeon trying to break away while giggling.

Sometimes, Kyungsoo thought time was flying too fast.

But sometimes, he remembered that he didn’t only live with one baby in this house, he lived with two.

And sometimes…sometimes he wondered how the love he felt for both of them kept growing with every single passing day.

Sometimes he wondered if there was a person in this world happier than him.

He seriously doubted it.

 

** 7 **

Soyeon was giddy that morning.

Kyungsoo was even giddier.

He kept running around, checking everything for one last time.

A little backpack, check.

A notebook and two pencils, check.

A bottle of water, check.

A jacket, check.

A lunchbox with the best meal he could make and fit in there, check.

A tiny note on said lunchbox with a reminder than they both loved her to the moon and back, check.

Another kid, a slightly oversized one, standing on one knee and adjusting their baby girl’s T-shirt in place, check.

“-be nice to the teachers and be nice to the other kids. Unless someone is rude to you, then you can-“

“Jongin.“

“Right.” Jongin cleared his throat, holding the small, delicate hands of Soyeon. “Pay attention in class and at lunch break go sit with the others and make lots of friends.”

Soyeon was nodding with a bright smile and Kyungsoo finally squatted down, too, taking one of her hands from Jongin’s grasp and holding it tightly in his own.

“Me and daddy will be waiting here for you after school.” he said quietly with a smile, because he didn’t trust himself to speak louder. This was getting him emotional. “Have fun, princess, alright?” 

Soyeon nodded yet again before she lunged forward to hug them first. Throwing her arms around each of their shoulders and burying her head between theirs.

Kyungsoo pursed his lips as he threw one hand around her, the other – around Jongin. Holding his two most precious treasures in the world close for a few moments and trying not to be sappy.

He was not going to cry.

He refused to cry.

But it was his baby’s first day of school and it was just ridiculous to think that just yesterday he had been changing diapers and rocking her in his arms to sleep. Now she was going to school and-

“I love you!” they heard the little girl say cheerfully.

“We love you, too.” Jongin was quicker to say in a wobbly voice and Kyungsoo threw a look towards his husband. It was comforting to know he wasn’t eh only one going through a crisis. “Go, bean.”

And she did. She turned around with the brightest of smiles, two braids spinning around with her as she clutched the pink straps of her backpack and ran towards the teacher.

Kyungsoo and Jongin stood up slowly, watching as the teacher started gathering the kids around.

Kyungsoo felt Jongin’s hand around his shoulder, holding him tightly as they stared at their little girl.

He wrapped his own hand around Jongin’s waist, not letting go.

They stayed there in silence, just watching, until the teacher finally led the group of children inside the school building and they lost sight of their little princess. Kyungsoo let out a breath when he felt Jongin gripping his shoulder tightly for a moment.

“My last meeting ends at 2. I’ll head right back here after that. You can make it by three, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Jongin replied, finally turning around with Kyungsoo and heading towards their cars. “You gave her the phone, right?”

“I did. And you saved our numbers on speed dial, right?”

“I did.”

They walked those last few remaining meters hand in hand.

Jongin seemed reluctant to let go of him when they reached the parking lot.

“It’s ridiculous how much she’s grown, isn’t it?”

Kyungsoo looked back towards the elementary school building, feeling a sigh building up, before he nodded.

“It is.”

“It feels like I just blinked and here she is, my baby suddenly going to school.” Jongin shook his head, eyebrows shooting up. “That’s it with the blinking. No more blinking.”

Kyungsoo let the loving smile pull his lips back, as he leaned forward and kissed Jongin square on the lips. Briefly. Because there were kids around.

“I’ll see you here later.”

“Yeah. Kyungsoo?”

“Hm?” Kyungsoo hummed, opening the door of his car and then looking back at Jongin, who was leaning against his and staring at him. “What?”

“I love you.”

The warmest wave spread in his chest and he smiled.

“I love you more.”

“That’s debatable.” Jongin replied and with a smirk entered his car and left Kyungsoo smiling like a teenage fool in the school’s parking lot.

* * *

“-and she showed me her doll and the dress was so pretty!” Soyeon was waving around excitedly, the burger and fries (an exception Kyungsoo had been all too willing to make in light of them celebrating) getting cold because instead of eating she was excitedly telling them about her first day.

“How pretty was it?” Jongin asked, indulging the little girl with his questions, leaning against the table, forgetting about his own food.

“It was the prettiest!”

“Tell you what,” Baekhyun said from the side, leaning over the table and looking at their little girl while letting Chanyeol deal with Hyuk and the fact that he was trying to eat fries that had fallen to the ground. “I’ll get you an even prettier doll with an even prettier dress, how about that?”

Kyungsoo threw a look towards his friend. Unbelievable.

“Who’s your favourite uncle?” Baekhyun prompted with his wide grin and when Soyeon excitedly screamed out his name he leaned down and started tickling her.

Kyungsoo shook his head a little with the softest smile, dipping a fry in his ketchup and handing it to Hyuk so the boy would stop trying to pick up the fallen ones.

He threw a look towards Jongin and their eyes met. His husband smiled his favourite half smile and shrugged.

Kyungsoo wasn’t one for spoiling their kid, but he supposed he just couldn’t help it. The look on Soyeon’s face, was worth it. So worth it. 

They were both such fools for her.

“Oh! And Hana trains ballet!” Soyeon excitedly exclaimed again and Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows.

“Does she, now?”

“Yes! She has a dress and she has those pink shoes! I want to train ballet too!”

“Really?!”

Kyungsoo had to try his best not to laugh at the way Jongin immediately perked up and almost jumped over the table.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol couldn’t quite contain their fits of laughter.

“Yes! Can I?”

“Of course you can, princess, we will sign you up for ballet classes first thing in the morning tomorrow!” Jongin said, moving an arm over their daughter’s shoulders as her excitement just kept growing. “We will go and buy you the prettiest of all tutus and ballet slippers!”

“Really?” Soyeon shrieked again, directing her eyes from Jongin to Kyungsoo, as if looking for confirmation. “Really?!”

He couldn’t help it. Daughter’s fools indeed.

“Of course.” He smiled and Soyeon took that as her cue to start jumping around excitedly and Kyungsoo’s heart was bursting.

Jongin looked like he was going to cry so Kyungsoo reached out to intertwine their fingers together and hold his husband’s hand tightly.

“You know what, Soyeonnie, I used to know someone who trained ballet.” Baekhyun started and there was something about his tone that caused both Kyungsoo and Jongin to look towards him along with their little girl. Baekhyun was staring straight at Jongin and there was a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Really? Who?”

Kyungsoo looked at the way Jongin squinted his eyes daringly and Baekhyun just ended up laughing, ruffling their little girl’s hair and throwing an arm over his son’s shoulder.

“I’ll tell you some other time.”

Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes, grip on Jongin’s hand tight.

Boys.

 

** 9 **

“DINNER’S READY!”

Kyungsoo was pretty sure that they could hear him screaming at the top of his lungs for the third time now.

Judging by the loud exclamations coming from the backyard, though, he supposed they were just ignoring him.

And this wouldn’t do.

He left the dishes unwashed (Jongin deserved that as punishment for ignoring him twice already) and he headed towards the door to call them (and give Jongin a piece of his mind).

However, at the sight, he halted in his step and leaned against the doorframe instead.

He had thought Jongin and Soyeon were playing around in the pool.

However, they were standing on the grass and Soyeon’s hair was still up in the tight bun from her ballet practice earlier and Jonginw as staring right into her eyes, his own squinted as he held tightly onto the old football.

“You never look away from them. You keep staring and then BAM!” Jongin moved to the side, clutching the ball tightly. “When they least expect it, you slip right past them and score the touchdown, alright?”

Jongin was wearing his old jersey and Soyeon was wearing Kyungsoo’s -  it looked like a dress on her, almost reaching her knees and the short sleeves covering her hands to the elbows.

“You try now!” Jongin tossed the football to her and she caught it, their princess, before taking the starting position of what looked like a front runner. Kyungsoo cocked an eyebrow when Jongin took that same position right in front of her and started counting down.

He felt his eyebrows gradually rising up his forehead as he watched Soyeon very excitedly letting out a war cry as she moved on from staring at Jongin to shoving his shoulder with her own and then running away from a very dramatically falling dad.

“Kim is down and Soyeon is on the run. She’s inside the five!” Kyungsoo raised his voice as their princess kept running, hands safely wrapped around the football before throwing it at the ground. “And she’s in! Touchdown! What a tremendous play.” 

Kyungsoo shook his head as he walked out onto the backyard, helping Jongin up as his husband shone him the rbightest of all smiles and rubbed at his shoulder. Soyeon was excitedly jumping.

“Did you see that, dad? Did you?”

“I did, princess, you did great,” Kyungsoo smiled as the girl ran up to him. He gave her a high-five. “Now go wash your hands. Dinner is ready.”

He watched as their baby girl skipped back inside the house. Jongin was silently watching her.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but stare at him for a few moments.

They were thirty-five but Jongin wearing his jersey and smiling his softest smile and his eyes twinkling was no different from the Jongin he had met in college. It was overwhelming.

“That kid’s got a mean swing.” Jongin mumbled, rubbing at his shoulder, before throwing a look towards Kyungsoo. “She’s taking after you.”

“It’s your owl fault.”

“I’m just teaching her good things.”

“She’s a ballerina, Jongin.”

“And she can be the first ballerina that also doubles as a football player. She can be a quarterback. Better yet, she can be a lineman!”

“Kim Jongin, you are _not_ teaching my daughter how to tackle people.” 

“She’s _our_ daughter. And why the hell not?”

Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes, heading back towards the house.

“Go wash yourself, you fool. Dinner’s ready.”

“Don’t dodge the question!”

“You’ve got dishes to wash, Kim. I’d hurry up if I were you.”

 

** 12 **

It began with a quiet evening and Soyeon pouting because she had a stomachache.

There wasn’t much Kyungsoo could do that evening except get her some pain killers and make sure he was beside her bed until she fell asleep. He supposed she’d eaten something bad. Although, he felt fine? Judging by Jongin wolfing down all the food on the table at dinner, he was also fine.

And it was after midnight, as he was thinking about it and the pained expression on her little face when he sat up in the bed with a loud gasp, startling Jongin.

“What?” Jongin asked immediately, raising himself up on his elbows and turning the nightlight on. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Kyungsoo dismissed quickly turning towards Jongin, sitting so he would face him. “Jongin, it’s about Soyeon.”

He watched as Jongin furrowed his brows and raised himself to a sitting position as well. He looked concerned.

“What about her? Was he tummy still aching before bed?”

Kyungsoo frowned.

Maybe it was ridiculous. Maybe he was wrong. But it was a possibility, he supposed.

“Jongin, what if she’s getting her period?”

“Her wha-… _her what?!_ ”

“You know. Her period. Girls have that thing-“

“I _know_ what a period is, Kyungsoo.” Jongin interrupted, looking absolutely mortified. “I mean, you really think this might be…it?!”

“I don’t know!”

“Well it surely can’t be. She’s only twelve.” Jongin blinked kind of stupidly before looking up. “Twelve is too young, isn’t it?”

“I’m an architect, not a doctor.” Kyungsoo frowned, feeling stupid.

This was so out of his zone.

So out of Jongin’s zone.

Jongin, who seemed to have started hyperventilating at the thought.

“Well, I don’t know either! WE can google it. Yeah, that’s right. Google will know.”

Before he could stop him, his husband had pulled his phone from the nightstand, fingers flying over the screen and eyes concentrated on the content on the page.

Kyungsoo watched as all color from Jongin’s face started draining and he looked up to him.

“The average age is twelve.” He whispered, sounding horrified as he set the phone down. Kyungsoo bit on his lower lip. “What will we do, Kyungsoo? We know _nothing_ about this. We can’t help her…”

“Of course we can help her.” Kyungsoo countered, trying to convince himself. “Of course we can. We have studied about this, right? And we can read more about it and then we can-“

“Kyungsoo, what are we going to do?” Jongin kept hyperventilating. “Why did we adopt a girl? What do _we_ know about girls?!” 

“Hey, stop it.” Kyungsoo snapped. Jongin freaking out made _him_ freak out even more. “We’ll just…ask someone to help us. A girl. A woman.”

Jongin stilled down for a moment, contemplating this.

“Yeah. Yeah we can do that, you’re right.” His husband mumbled. “We can ask Seulgi. She’s a woman.”

“Seulgi? As in, our daughter’s ballet teacher Seulgi?”

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Jongin frowned and Kyungsoo shrugged. “Soyeon loves her and she lover Soyeon. She can explain to her how that whole…thing works, right?”

“I suppose.” Kyungsoo breathed out. It would definitely be easier to have a woman explain this. He felt like him and Jongin would just mess it all up if they tried. “We can ask her tomorrow before the ballet class.”

He watched Jongin fall back down on his pillow with a heavy sigh.

“Why is our girl growing up so quickly? Before we know it she’ll be dating and there will be men trying to impregnate her and then God forbid she’ll get married and leave us.”

“You’re being paranoid.” Kyungsoo sighed out as he lied back down, snuggling closing to his husband. “And what do you mean ‘God forbid’? You can’t expect her to stay single her entire life, do you?”

“I’d very much like that.”

“You’re being ridiculous, love.” Kyungsoo murmured, pecking Jongin’s neck from the side and nuzzling his head closer to his shoulder. “She’s only 12.”

There was silence for a few moments, but Kyungsoo could feel Jongin’s chest heaving up and down irregularly.

“What if she ends up dating Hyuk?” his husband asked and Kyungsoo shrugged, thinking about the tiny boy with the wide grin playing videogames with Baekhyun and CHanyeol every weekend.

“That would be cute.”

“No, it wouldn’t! She can’t date Hyuk.” Jongin said way too aggressively and Kyungsoo felt himself rolling his eyes with a little smile, snuggling even closer to his husband and feeling his hand tightening around his shoulders. “He’s like her brother. That would be like…friendcest.”

“Jongin?”

“What?”

“Shut up.”

 

** 17 **

Kyungsoo came back storming inside the house, throwing his jacket and the briefcase in the hallway.

Soyeon and Jongin were in the living room as he walked in. They were silent and Soyeon was avoiding his gaze when he walked in.

“What’s going on here?” Kyungsoo asked, out of breath. “I got a call from the school that you were sent back home. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Soyeon muttered, hair raised in a high ponytail as she looked away. She looked angry and Kyungsoo helplessly moved his gaze from her to Jongin, who just sighed out.

“What happened?”

“She cursed. That’s what the teacher told me. I don’t know what else happened, I just got here.”

Kyungsoo felt his eyebrows flying up as he looked again at Soyeon, arms instinctively twisting in front of his chest.

“You cursed? What happened?!”

Their girl seemed very reluctant to speak. She wasn’t even looking at them. Her thin body was turned away, all he could see was the twitch of her lips and the frown pulling them down.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Kim Soyeon, look at me right now. I asked, what happened?”

She slowly turned around in the seat and finally looked up towards them. There was something akin to anger mixed with regret in her big eyes.

“I cursed at this girl. She’s been bothering a lot of people. Bullying them. She was messing with Hyuk and I had enough of it.”

Kyungsoo looked up to Jongin. They exchanged a quick look before Jongin, too, took the ‘strict mode’ pose and twisted his hands in front of his chest.

“What did you say?”

Soyeon really looked like she didn’t want to say it, but cornered between her parents, she let out a sigh as she looked down to her hands.

“I called her a stuck-up bitch.”

Oh.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo mused quietly. It hadn’t been as bad as he had thought.

Besides, it did sound like Soyeon had had her reason to do that.

He looked back down to his little girl.

He had seen her grow, he had watched her grow her entire life and she was this young woman now. She was beautiful and she was talented and she was kind hearted. She was stadnign up to her friends.

And Kyungsoo should have been angry that she was cursing, but instead he felt proud. He felt so proud.

“I’m sorry.” Soyeon mumbled and Kyungsoo sighed out. She was already forgiven.

“Well,” Jongin started and Kyungsoo looked towards him. There was a soft look in his husband’s eyes. “I bet she was acting just like what you called her and that she deserved it.”

“You have no idea.” Soyeon nodded and earned herself an amused look from Kyungsoo.

He just shook his head, trying not to smile while she was still in the room.

“Go to your room. And you’re grounded, so don’t play on your phone too much.”

“You wouldn’t know how to ground me even if you took a course, dad.”

Kyungsoo almost melted when Soyeon stood up from the couch and walked over to him, kissing his cheek softly before moving on to Jongin and then heading towards the stairs.

Kyungsoo shook his head.

“AND NO MORE CURSING ALRIGHT? NO NEED FOR NAME CALLING!” he added as an afterthought, before sensing Jongin’s hand on his shoulders.

“I’m not sure we’re really doing that well in the parenting department.”

“I don’t think so,” Kyungsoo countered, spinning in Jongin’s arms. “She’s a lovely young woman. I think we did just fine.”

“Honestly, I was expecting something much worse.” Jongin shrugged. “A stuck-up bitch? That doesn’t really have much of an impact, does it?”

“It doesn’t, right? I was thinking the same thing.”

“Maybe we should teach her how to curse. You know, for future reference.”

Kyungsoo let out a breath, the smile spreading on his lips.

“A ballerina with a potty mouth who knows how to tackle people?” he wrapped his hands around his husband’s neck. “You’re ruining my child, Kim Jongin.”

“It’s _our_ child.” Jongin corrected, kissing Kyungsoo’s forehead softly. “And I think she turned out pretty well.”

 

** 20 **

It had been much harder than Kyungsoo had thought it would be, sending Soyeon off to college.

Seeing his little girl grown up, leaving. Staying there on her own. Leading her own life.

He still remembered them sending her off. And by then, he meant all of them.

Him and Jongin, and Baekhyun and Jongdae and Hyuk and Chanyeol, Jongdae and Minseok and Suho, because Suho had been in Korea for a business trip. All of them sending her off and all fo them wishing her luck.

He still remembered Baekhyun asking her, prompting her the same thing he did ever since she was a little girl – ‘Who’s your favourite uncle?”.

He still remembered the tantrum he threw after Soyeon smirked and confidently said Jongdae was.

He still remembered Jongdae’s pleased smile when he threw his fist in the air with a loud ‘Hell yeah I am’.

He still remembered how hard Soyeon hugged them there and how hard he was trying not to cry.

He remembered him and Jongin going home that evening, alone. He remembered how quiet the dining table felt.

He remembered how odd it was to get used to this feeling.

But at least he had his Jongin. At least he had him and he loved him and after all these years all his free time he could give to his husband.

And at least they had raised a good daughter, who would call them every few days and let her old men know that she was alive and breathing and happy.

And at least he knew she’d come back for the holidays and he could shower her with all the love he had in his being.

“Don’t forget to pick up the dry cleaning on your way back home tonight,” Kyungsoo reminded Jongin before heading out for work. “And don’t forget to be home on time. Soyeon is coming back.”

“How could I possibly forget? I was thinking about not going to work at all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, patting Jongin’s cheek before putting on his coat. “I have a meeting, but make sure you prepare the guest room before you leave for work, alright? Soyeon said she’s bringing a friend over for the holidays.”

“I know, I know. I’ll get everything done. ” Jongin smiled, walking closer to watch Kyungsoo slipping on his shoes and grabbing the tube with the plans and his briefcase. “Don’t take too long.”

“You’re such a big baby.”Kyungsoo shook his head, always amused, as he pulled Jongin down to kiss him quickly. “I’ll see you tonight,  okay, love?”

“See you tonight.”

* * *

Kyungsoo’s first job when he returned home with the groceries in the afternoon was to check if Jongin really had prepared the guest room.

He had. Good boy.

Then he immediately headed for the kitchen. Dinner wouldn’t cook itself and he wanted everything to be perfect for his little girl coming back home tonight.

With every passing minute and hour he was growing giddier and it felt like time was slowing down on purpose just to annoy him. He couldn’t wait to meet his girl.

Jongin returned soon enough to help him continue with dinner.

They were both excitedly waiting, although neither of them said anything. Kyungsoo could see Jongin throwing looks towards the clock though and he could only smile.

Kyungsoo had just shoved the cake in the refrigerator, when the loud ringing of the doorbell resounded through the house. Him and Jongin looked at each other and he immediately smiled at the way Jongin’s face lit up and he jumped up from the couch.

“Come on,” Kyungsoo urged, waiting to grab Jongin’s hand, almost dragging him towards the front door. He couldn’t help the wide grin.

He opened the door quickly, the only thing the mattered – their little girl coming home. Seeing their little girl after three months.

However, as he opened the door, he felt himself freeze a little. He felt Jongin’s hand tightening around his.

“Dad!” Soyeon let out a breath, letting go of the hand of the boy next to her, before lunging forward to throw her arms around Kyungsoo’s neck. She let go of him before jumping towards Jongin, holding him tightly for a few seconds before stepping back and placing a hand on each of their shoulders. Kyungsoo held her tightly for a moment, the guest on the porch completely forgotten as he paid attention to his little girl. “Oh I missed you so much!”

“We missed you, too, princess. So, so much.”

He was brought back to reality when Soyeon moved back and once again awkwardly stood next to her friend. The boy. The one she had been holding hands with just a moment ago.

Kyungsoo let his mouth drying.

“Guys, this is Shikyung. Shikyung, those are my dads. Kyungsoo and Jongin.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you!” the boy bowed down immediately, almost nervously and Kyungsoo nodded, mouth still dry. Jongin’s grip on his hand was a tad _too_ tight.

“Come on in,” Kyungsoo pushed the door open. “It’s freezing outside.”

He watched as Soyeon smiled brightly again – his beautiful girl, he had missed her smile so much – and as she grabbed that boy’s hand again to pull him inside.

“A friend?!” Jongin whisper-screamed as soon as they were left alone by the door in the hallway. “When she said she’s bringing a friend over I thought she’d bring a girl! A _girl_ friend. Not a boy!”

“Don’t make a scene,” Kyungsoo said in a sing-song voice with a tight lipped smile.

“A scene? You’re about to get a whole Broadway musical.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t say he quite disagreed but there were more important things now, like making sure his little girl was eating and that she was happy for the holidays.

As much as he would have loved starring in that musical, he ended up patting Jongin’s shoulder. Jongin, who looked like he’d have an aneurism if he stood there thinking about it any longer.

Hell, even he felt like he’d have an aneurism if he stood there thinking about it any longer.

He gripped Jongin’s hand tightly with his, before pulling him forward.

“Come on.”

* * *

Dinner was awkward, that’s all Kyungsoo could say.

He was staring at his lovely Soyeon the entire time.

Jongin, however, was staring  at the boy sitting next to her.

Kyungsoo had to pinch his thigh at least three times to stop him from glaring.

It was when the boy excused himself to go to the bathroom, when Jongin finally let out a puff of air he had been holding in, as he leaned over the table.

“So what’s this about?”

“What’s what?” Soyeon asked and Kyungsoo pursed his lips, putting a hand on Jongin’s thigh again to stop him from…well, from doing whatever he had in mind.

“This boy. Shikyung. What’s this about?”

Soyeon placed her fork down, refusing to look at Jongin. Instead, she directed her gaze towards Kyungsoo, as if searching for help.

He shrugged. He was kind of with Jongin on this one.

“We are _curious_ , honey.”

Soyeon let out a breath and her shoulders tensed.

“Well…we started dating some months ago. I thought it would be a good idea to spend the holidays together and to finally introduce you to him.”

“Us to him?” Jongin raised an eyebrow before he looked at Kyungsoo. Unbelievable.

Soyeon didn’t seem to catch that, because she simply leaned back in her chair.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?” both of them replied in the same time. Soyeon smiled.

“I really like this one. Be nice. Pretty please?”

Kyungsoo reluctantly smiled. Fingers tightening around Jongin’s knee until his husband, too, smiled.

Soyeon shone them the brightest of smiles and Kyungsoo felt himself melting all over again.

Even after all these years, they remained fools for their daughter.

He supposed some things never changed.

* * *

“So,” Soyeon said between bites of the cake Kyungsoo had made earlier just so she’s break the awkward silence. “Shikyung is on the football team of the college.”

Kyungsoo closed his eyes when he heard Jongin’s fork colliding with his plate when he dropped it.

“You are?”

“I’m the captain of the team, sir,” the boy politely replied.

“Huh,” Jongin said, not sounding impressed at all. “So was I.”

“Uh, I’m the quarterback.”

“So was I.”

Kyungsoo threw an incredulous look towards his husband. What a child.

“Really? That’s awesome, sir.” The kid across the table smiled brightly and then directed his gaze towards Soyeon. “I guess that’s where Soyeon learned everything about football from! When I tried teaching her how to play she already knew everything. I think her swing is better than mine.”

“It is good, isn’t it?” Jongin said, with the smallest hint of a proud smile on his lips. He connected his hands on the table and  his eyes never left the boy. “So you study engineering?”

“Uh…yes, sir.”

“He’s an honor student.” Soyeon chided in from the side, sounding proud.

“Yeah…” the Shikyung boy let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m on a scholarship.”

“A football scholarship?”

“No, sir…For my grades.”

“Huh.”

That’s all Jongin said before he reached out to grab the glass of wine that was almost empty at this point. He couldn’t quite hide the distaste on his face and Kyungsoo almost laughed at that fact that Jongin was trying so hard to find something about this boy that he didn’t like but just couldn’t.

He really did have two babies in the house.

* * *

“Shikyung, you can sleep in the guest room. We prepared it earlier.”

“Yeah, he’s staying in the guest room.” Jongin chided from the side. Kyungsoo threw an exasperated look at him. “The guest room. On the second floor. Right next to our bedroom.”

“Okay, sir, thank you.”

“The walls are thin. WE will hear if the doors open and close.”

“Dad!”

“Just saying.”

Soyeon shook her head, eyes wide open as she started shoving her boyfriend out of the room. Kyungsoo just raised her eyebrows at her on their way out.

_We will hear it,_ he mouthed and the look of betrayal on Soyeon’s face was priceless.  

* * *

“-I mean…” Jongin emerged from the bathroom of their bedroom, toothpaste on the corner of his lips as he held onto his toothbrush. “He’s a football player! He’s a quarterback!”

“So I heard.” Kyungsoo said, eyes fixed on his book on the bed.

“You know better than anyone that nothing good comes from dating a damn quarterback!”

Kyungsoo looked up from his book to the door where Jongin was still in the middle of his breakdown.

Dating a quarterback got him here.

He made a face, as if he agreed with what his husband said, before looking down to his book and flipping the page.

“ _Hey!_ ” Jongin protested, before he disappeared in the bathroom to leave the toothbrush.

Kyungsoo just breathed out and rolled out of the bed. He walked closer to meet Jongin halfway.

He wrapped his hands around his husband’s neck.

“He reminds me of you.” He said and Jongin just scoffed. “Hell, he even looks a bit like you. But that might be just my old, tired eyes.”

Jongin’s face softened.

“You’re only 46, Soo.”

“You’re 45 and yet you’re still acting like a baby,” Kyungsoo breathed out, before he smiled. “Trust me, I don’t like this situation that much either. Not ecstatic about it. But she _likes_ him.”

“Does she really?”

“She likes him _a lot_. And if our baby girl’s happy, then so am I.”

He saw the way Jongin furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. He could practically hear the gears in his brain shifting.

He heard him mumbling something under his breath. Grumbling and muttering.

He almost rolled his eyes.

“If he ever hurts our little girl I’ll rip his dick off.”

Kyungsoo laughed quietly, hands tightening around Jongin’s shoulders.

“That makes two of us, love.”

Kyungsoo tiptoed to kiss Jongin on his lips, before heading towards the bed.

“…and can you _believe_ he tried teaching her about football? When our girl knows just about everything-“

“Jongin, that’s enough.”

Kyungsoo left his book on the nightstand, watching as Jongin talked over to the door of their bedroom and opened it. He breathed out.

“ _What_ are you doing?”

“Yeah, I’m not closing this door. If someone tries sneaking around tonight I _will_ hear it.”

“What happened to ‘the walls are thin’?”

“You designed the damn house. You _know_ the walls aren’t thin.”

“Jongin, close the door and come to bed.”

“But what if they try to sneak around?”

Kyungsoo breathed out. He supposed desperate situations called for desperate measures.

And Jongin having a breakdown was _definitely_ a desperate situation.

He untied his robe, throwing one side over his shoulder. The air felt cold on his skin.

He sat up.

“Jongin, close the damn door and _come to bed_.”

He enjoyed seeing the way his husband’s eyes widened a little when he saw him – a look as surprised and excited as it had been twenty years ago.

He also almost laughed at the almost comical way Jongin twisted his head between he open door and Kyungsoo waiting for him in bed.

As if it was the hardest decision he was facing in his life.

“This is _so_ unfair.” Jongin whined, but he ended up closing the door with a loud bang.

Kyungsoo smiled triumphantly.

That look in Jongin’s eyes – the loving twinkle mixed with the want and lust.

He laughed breathily as he spread his arms and waited for Jongin to crawl into them, before connecting their lips together with the promise for a fun night.

With the promise for a happily ever after. Starting now.

Yes.

Some things _never_ changed.

* * *

* * *

* * *

A little something for everyone who has read this story. It’s been a while, it’s been two years, but I wanted to give you guys a little something extra. I know it was cheesy, but I’d like to imagine that they had a happy, happy life together.

I hope you liked it! Please comment, let me know what you thought~

 

twitter: jongnugget


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